Stocks Droped after ISM

U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday morning  after the Institute for Supply Management reported a gauge of services activity for June that fell short of forecasts, adding to worries about global growth underlined by three central banks’ moves to lower borrowing costs.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped  38.56 points at 12,905.26. The S&P 500 was off 4.89 points at 1,369.13. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.03 points to 2,977.11.

U.S. services activity slowed in June to the weakest level since January 2010, according to data released by the Institute for Supply Management on Thursday. The ISM services index fell to 52.1% from 53.7% in May, which was worse than the 52.9% than economists expected.

The European Central Bank has cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low of 0.75 percent. The move followed a rate cut by China’s central bank and new stimulus measures by the Bank of England.

U.S. private employers stepped up hiring in June and the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week fell by the most in two months. Employers outside government added 176,000 new workers to their payrolls last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Thursday, after increasing 136,000 in May.