U.S. futures indicated a higher opening Thursday following news that the Bank of England cut interest rates to 0.25% from 0.5%. It is the first change in interest rates since March 2009. European markets were also showing gains following the decision. All of the Asian markets closed in the green.
Oil prices were declining slightly. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 0.4%, trading around $40.66. While Brent Crude was down 0.8%, but still trading above $40 at around $42.75.
Square (SQ) shares skyrocketed by nearly 20% in early trading after reporting a 41.5% jump in quarterly revenue. The mobile payment company posted revenue of $439 million for the period, which surpassed Wall Street's expectations of $405.7 million. Square reported a loss of $0.08 per share, which was narrower than analysts' predictions of a loss of $0.11 per share. The company forecasts 2016 revenue between $1.62 billion and $1.67 billion.
Shares of Tesla Motors (TSLA) were gaining slightly before the bell despite missing second-quarter expectations. The electric car maker reported a loss of $293.2 million for the period. On a per-share basis, the losses came to $1.06, which was short of Wall Street's forecasts of a loss of $0.56 per share. Revenue of $1.56 billion also missed analysts' forecasts of $1.62 billion. In a statement, Tesla said it delivered fewer cars than it originally planned as a result of its steep production ramp; the automaker delivered 14,402 new vehicles in the second quarter. But the company said it is on track to deliver 50,000 vehicles in the second half of year.
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) shares were sinking by more than 3% before the bell following news that billionaire investor William Ackman exited his position in the company. Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square sold its entire 9.84 million share stake in Canadian Pacific, which was valued at about $1.5 billion. In a statement, the company said it is not selling any common shares in the offering and will not receive any proceeds.
Finally, Chesapeake Energy (CHK) shares were down after posting top- and bottom-line misses for the second quarter. The petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company reported a loss of $0.14 per share on revenue of $1.62 billion -- that missed analysts' forecasts of a loss of $0.10 per share on revenue of $1.93 billion. But the debt-laden Chesapeake Energy raised its asset sales target and production forecast for the year, while keeping its capital budget unchanged. Its asset sales target was increased to more than $2 billion, up from a range of $1.2 billion to $1.7 billion. Chesapeake is on Real Money's Stressed Out watch list of distressed companies.
"Financial discipline remains our top priority, and we continue to work toward additional solutions to improve our liquidity, reduce our midstream commitments and enhance our margins," CEO Doug Lawler said in a statement.
