MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Retreats From 22,000 As Stocks Fight For Gains

Tesla's stock jumps premarket following quarterly results as Nasdaq also looks to open slightly higher

The Dow industrials on Thursday struggled to retain a grip above the 22,000 level as the broader stock market traded at break-even levels, with investors searching for a further catalyst to scale fresh heights.

An early reading of employment didn't stoke much of a market reaction, as it showed weekly jobless claims holding at a 44-year low, underlining the health of the labor market. Initial jobless claims from July 23 to July 29 declined by 5,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-fall-by-5000-to-240000-2017-08-03)to 240,000, while the average of new claims over the past month fell to 241,750.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded flat at 22,016, while the S&P 500 index pulled back by 4 points at 2,473, pressured lower by the slumping telecommunications and energy sector, both off by at least 0.3%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index also struggled for direction, trading little changed at 6,358.

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 500 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 Inc. (TSLA) traded 6.3 higher after electric-car maker 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, with shares gaining 1.4%, 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. Shares of Dish were off 2%, while Clorox's stock slipped 1.1%.

Kellogg Co. shares (K) rose 2.6% after the Frosted Flakes producer delivered better-than-expected second-quarter results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kellogg-shares-edge-up-after-earnings-beat-2017-08-03). Net income was $282.0 million, or 80 cents per share, up from $280.0 million, or 79 cents per share, for the same period last year and adjusted earnings-per-share was 97 cents, beating the 92-cent FactSet consensus.

Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) plunged nearly 17% after the drugmaker missed fiscal second-quarter profit expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tevas-stock-plunges-on-heavy-volume-after-profit-miss-and-slashed-outlook-2017-08-03) and slashed its full-year outlook.

Allergan PLC(AGN) shares slipped by 1.3% even as the drugmaker lifted its full-year guidance for revenue in 2017 to $15.850 billion, compared with prior guidance of $15.800 billion..

Aetna Inc.'s(AET) shares climbed 3.4% after the health-care company's second-quarter earnings beat analyst forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aetna-rises-31-premarket-after-earnings-beat-views-2017-08-03-6911746). Profit for the quarter came in at $1.2 billion, or $3.60 a share, up from $791 million, or $2.23 a share, a year ago.

Yum Brands Inc.'s(YUM) stock fell by 1.1% despite the fast-food conglomerate (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yum-shares-rise-after-earnings-beat-same-store-sales-growth-2017-08-03) serving up beat on earnings and delivered same-store sales growth.

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)

Economic news: 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 nonmanufacturing 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.

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

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.

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).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2017 09:46 ET (13:46 GMT)