MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Set For A Fight To Stay Above 22,000; Tesla Shares Tear Higher

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

U.S. stock futures on Thursday pointed to a muted open, setting the Dow industrial up for a fight to stay above 22,000--just one day after it topped that milestone for the first time.

Meanwhile, an early reading of employment didn't cause 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.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded up 9 points, or less than 0.1%, at 21,966.00, while S&P 500 futures gained less than a point at 2,474.25. Nasdaq-100 futures added 12.75 points, or 0.2%, to 5,923.50.

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 6.5% higher in premarket action 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 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.

Kellogg Co. shares rose 0.9% in premarket trade 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 15% 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 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. Shares were off 0.2%.

Health insurer Aetna Inc.(AET) 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. Shares jumped 4.4%.

Yum Brands Inc.'s(YUM) stock advanced after the fast-food conglomerate (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yum-shares-rise-after-earnings-beat-same-store-sales-growth-2017-08-03) served 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 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)