Futures slightly higher after BoE cuts rates

[August 04, 2016]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher after the Bank of England cut interest rates and ahead of economic data.

* The BoE lowered its main lending rate to a record-low of 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent and said it would buy 60 billion pounds of government debt to ease the blow from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

* Oil prices slipped after momentary relief on Wednesday as the focus shifted back to oversupply. [O/R]

* A report is expected to show applications for unemployment benefits in the United States fell by 1,000 to 265,000 for the week ended July 30. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

* The U.S. Commerce Department will release its report on manufacturing goods at 10:00 a.m. ET. The report is likely to show that new orders for factory goods fell 1.8 percent in June.

* A recent set of strong economic data, including Wednesday's private sector hiring numbers, can strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. A lot hinges on the more comprehensive monthly jobs data, which is expected on Friday.

* However, traders do not expect a rate hike anytime this year, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

* Wall Street closed slightly higher on Wednesday, helped by gains in energy and financial stocks.

* Viacom <VIAB.O> shares rose 1.1 percent premarket after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue.

* Tesla <TSLA.O> fell 0.8 percent to $224 after the electric carmaker posted a steeper-than-expected loss, but said it was on track for future deliveries.

* Randgold's U.S.-listed shares dropped 10.6 percent to $106.30 after it reported flat quarterly profit from its mining business and a drop in gold production.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Sarepta Therapeutics rose 7.1 percent after Janney raised its price target by $5 to $30.

* LinkedIn which has agreed to be bought by Microsoft, and Kraft Heinz are scheduled to report after the bell.

Futures snapshot at 7:14 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis  were up 29 points, or 0.16 percent, with 17,048 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis  were up 3 points, or 0.14 percent, with 125,243 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 0.5 points, or 0.01 percent, on volume of 17,636 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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