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Swiss National Bank, ECB cut rates

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Yen weakens on Reuters report BOJ may skip hike next week

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Yuan stabilises after PBOC keeps official midpoint steady

(Updated at 2:25 p.m. ET (1925 GMT)

By Chris Prentice and Amanda Cooper

NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Global stocks were

down and major Wall Street indexes fell on Thursday after the

European Central Bank cut interest rates for a fourth time this

year, and gold prices slid from a five-week high.

European stocks finished lower in choppy trading after the

European Central Bank cut interest rates and kept the door open

to further easing in 2025 in the face of a struggling economy

and heightened political risks.

The Swiss franc weakened after the Swiss National Bank cut

rates by half a point, its largest reduction in nearly 10 years.

Markets had priced a good chance of a half-point cut in the

run-up to Thursday's meeting.

The U.S. Labor Department's producer price index (PPI)

, which tracks the prices U.S. companies get for

their goods and services at the figurative factory door, jumped

by 0.4%, leap-frogging over the 0.2% consensus and marking an

acceleration from October's upwardly revised 0.3% gain.

The U.S. dollar rose.

Oil prices fell more than 1% as a forecast for ample supply

in the oil market offset optimism stemming from rising

expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe

fell 2.35 points, or 0.27%, to 869.04.

Wednesday's inflation reading showed the consumer price

index (CPI) rose exactly in line with expectations in November,

supporting bets for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next

week.

"The market has essentially seen one of the last remaining

obstacles that could derail sentiment out of the way," said

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "Seeing the coast

somewhat clearer for the illustrious seasonal chase of returns

to play out into year-end."

Traders now place a 97% chance on a quarter-point Fed cut on

Dec. 18.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 211.90

points, or 0.48%, to 43,937.10, the S&P 500 fell 25.05

points, or 0.41%, to 6,059.25 and the Nasdaq Composite

fell 95.97 points, or 0.48%, to 19,938.97.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down by

0.1%, although rate-sensitive eurozone bank shares edged

up 0.3%.

Traders were pricing in 125 basis points worth of interest

rate cuts by the ECB end of 2025, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

"The ECB is on a direct path of consecutive quarter-point

cuts until the deposit rate reaches 2%. This market expectation

is now being reinforced by even lower economic forecasts," said

Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Emerging stocks rose 0.38%.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes

rose 5.3 basis points to 4.324%, from 4.271% late on Wednesday.

CENTRAL BANK FOCUS

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,

rose 0.29% to 106.86, with the euro down 0.12% at

$1.0481.

The greenback retreated against the yen after Reuters

reported that BOJ policy makers were inclined to forgo a hike on

Dec. 19 and wait for more data on wages at the start of next

year.

The Australian dollar turned lower against the dollar.

Earlier, it surged on unexpectedly strong employment data,

rebounding from Wednesday's weakness following a Reuters report

that Beijing is considering allowing the yuan to depreciate

further next year. China is Australia's top trading partner and

the Aussie is often used as a liquid proxy for the yuan.

Although economists were almost unanimous in predicting

Thursday's move by the ECB, many had acknowledged that a bigger

cut would also be justified given a deteriorating growth outlook

and rapidly retreating inflation.

In commodities, spot gold fell 1.22% to $2,684.83

an ounce as investors took profits and squared positions ahead

of next week's Fed meeting. U.S. gold futures settled

1.7% lower at $2,709.40.

Crude oil retreated after rallying this week on the threat

of additional sanctions aimed at stifling Russian oil output.

U.S. crude settled down 0.4% to $70.02 a barrel

and Brent fell to $73.41 per barrel, down 0.15% on the

day.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; Editing by

Edwina Gibbs, Michael Perry, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean and

Ed Osmond)