MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Faces Struggle To Hold Above 22,000, But Tesla Tears Higher

Tesla's stock jumps premarket following quarterly results

U.S. stock futures on Thursday pointed to a muted open, setting the Dow average up for a fight to stay above 20,000 -- just one day after it topped that level for the first time.

Investors are taking in another round of quarterly results, with Kellogg Co.(K) and Tesla Inc.(TSLA) among the notable names set for earnings-driven moves. Fresh readings on jobless claims, factory orders and a non-manufacturing gauge are also likely to get some attention.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gave up 6 points, or less than 0.1%, to 21,951.00, while S&P 500 futures shed 1.25 points, or about 0.1%, to 2,472.25. Nasdaq-100 futures added 4.25 points, or 0.1%, to 5,915.00.

On Wednesday, the Dow rose by 52.32 points (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-rally-signals-dow-22000-at-the-open-nasdaq-to-surge-2017-08-02), or 0.2%, to an all-time closing high of 22,016.24, while the S&P and Nasdaq Composite finished roughly unchanged.

Check out:All of the important Dow milestones in one chart (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/all-of-the-important-dow-milestones-in-one-chart-2016-12-28)

And see:How each Dow stock contributed to the 22,000 milestone (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-each-dow-stock-contributed-to-the-22000-milestone-2017-08-02)

Individual movers: Shares in Tesla traded 6% higher in premarket action after the maker of electric cars posted a smaller-than-anticipated quarterly loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-shares-up-4-after-narrower-than-expected-quarterly-loss-2017-08-02) late Wednesday.

Read:Tesla cheered as results beat, but Wall Street braces for capital raise (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-cheered-as-results-beat-forecasts-but-wall-street-braces-for-another-capital-raise-2017-08-03)

And see:Tesla is a big public company, and Elon Musk must start acting like it (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-is-a-large-public-company-and-elon-musk-must-start-acting-like-it-2017-08-02)

American International Group Inc.(AIG) also looks on pace for an up day after the insurer's quarterly profit beat forecasts late Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aigs-stock-rallies-after-profit-beat-2017-08-02).

Ahead of the opening bell, satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp.(DISH) posted a sharp drop in quarterly earnings and weaker-than-expected revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dish-networks-profit-falls-sharply-and-revenue-misses-expectations-2017-08-03), while cleaning-products giant Clorox Co.'s (CLX) profit topped expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/clorox-profit-rises-above-expectations-while-sales-growth-matches-2017-08-03), as its sales matched views.

Frosted Flakes producer Kellogg, health insurer Aetna Inc.(AET) , drug maker Allergan PLC(AGN) , and fast-food heavyweight Yum Brands Inc.(YUM) are also among the companies on the earnings docket before the open.

See:Kraft Heinz earnings -- have revenue estimates fallen enough to be beatable? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kraft-heinz-earnings-have-revenue-estimates-fallen-enough-to-be-beatable-2017-08-01)

Other markets:The British pound (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pound-climbs-as-traders-wait-for-boes-super-thursday-2017-08-03) lost ground as traders reacted to the Bank of England's "Super Thursday" releases. The U.K. central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep its key interest rate (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-of-england-holds-key-rate-at-025-in-6-2-vote-pound-drops-2017-08-03) at 0.25% in a 6-2 vote. The ICE U.S Dollar Index was up modestly.

Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-pull-back-but-investors-stay-bullish-on-us-data-2017-08-03) were little changed, while gold futures pulled back. European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-wrestled-lower-with-siemens-shares-down-2017-08-03) were mixed, while Asian markets closed lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kospi-slides-erasing-weeks-gains-as-asian-markets-pull-back-2017-08-02).

Economic news: A report on weekly jobless claims is slated to hit at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with economists polled by MarketWatch forecasting 244,000 claims. A high-profile release (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ignoring-washington-chaos-companies-likely-kept-up-strong-hiring-in-july-2017-07-30) on the job market is due Friday -- the U.S. government's monthly data on nonfarm payrolls.

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

The July figure for Markit's purchasing managers' index for services is due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern. Then 15 minutes later, ISM's non-manufacturing index for the same month is expected, along with June data on factory orders. Economists anticipate a reading of 56.9% for the ISM gauge and 2.9% growth in factory orders.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2017 07:17 ET (11:17 GMT)