Stock Futures Decline as Crude Oil Dips Below $50 for First Time This Year

New York (Mar 9)  Stock futures declined Thursday morning as crude oil extended a recent selloff to fall to below $50 a barrel for the first time since December.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.13%, and Nasdaq futures slid 0.07%. 

Crude oil prices continued to decline on Thursday, compounding losses seen a day earlier. Commodities have been under pressure since a weekly report from the Energy Information Administration showed a much larger build in domestic stockpiles than anticipated. U.S. supplies have risen for the past nine weeks in a row.

West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2% to $49.27 a barrel on Thursday. A day earlier, crude clocked its sharpest decline in 13 months.

The European Central Bank will meet on Thursday with an announcement on rates and monetary policy before the bell. Investors are keen to see whether ECB President Mario Draghi suggests removal of accommodative policies given eurozone inflation has returned to its 2% target for the first time in four years. The central bank previously said it would reduce its monthly bond purchases to 60 billion euros in April from the current level of 80 billion.

"There are clear signs that some investors are looking for a symbolic increase in the deposit rate this year to placate the hawks on the Governing Council," said Patrick O'Donnell, investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. "But it's too early to see a significant change in signaling from the strong core of dovish members of the Governing Council, of which Draghi is clearly one."

Source: TheStreet