A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Gain; Bank of England Lowers Interest Rates

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while factory orders report for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 60 points to 18,328.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 6.25 points to 2,163.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 7.25 points to 4,734.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures declined 1 percent to trade at $42.67 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.61 percent to trade at $40.58 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index surging 1.71 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.69 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.88 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.5 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.65 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.07 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.43 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.13 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.06 percent. The Bank of England lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.25 percent and expanded its QE program. The bank also announced plans to introduce a corporate bond-buying plan.

Broker Recommendation

Archer-Daniels Midland shares rose 1.10 percent to close at $43.93 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Viacom, Inc. VIAB 0.28% followed others in the entertainment sector to announce better-than-expected third quarter results. The entertainment firm reported adjusted net earnings attributable to its shareholders of $419 million or $1.05 a share. To read the full news, click here.
• Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK 4.68% released its Q2 results before the open on Thursday. Earnings per share came in below Wall Street consensus expectations, causing shares to fall 2.65 percent due to the energy company's miss on sales estimates. To read the full news, click here.
• Tesla Motors Inc TSLA 0.25% posted a wider-than-expected loss for its second quarter on Wednesday. However, 14,402 deliveries beat estimates of 14,307 units. For the second half of the year, management reiterated its target for 50,000 deliveries. To read the full news, click here.

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