The Labor Department reported jobless claims dropped by 23,000 to 381,000 in the week ended Dec. 3. This is the fewest since February, and it is too early to tell if this is a trend or the result of temporary hiring for the holiday season.

The European Central Bank lowered its target lending rate to 1% this morning and ECB president Mario Draghi said the ECB was pursuing more non-standard measures to fight the crisis, including unlimited three-year loans to banks and looser collateral criteria. The markets, however, were disappointed the ECB did not comment further on the possibility of buying debt. This keeps the EU Summit scheduled for Friday front and center on the minds of the global financial community.

Stock and bonds in the U.S. are relatively flat from the market close on Wednesday, as are prices on mortgages.