MARKET SNAPSHOT: Nasdaq's Record Run On The Line, As Snap Tumbles After Results

Macy's stock drops after disappointing earnings

The Nasdaq Composite faces a struggle to log another record on Thursday, with U.S. stocks poised for a modestly lower open.

Meanwhile, shares of Snapchat parent Snap Inc. were set to tumble after reporting a $2.2 billion loss.

Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 13 points to 5,662. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 30 points to 20,861, while S&P 500 futures eased 5 points to 2,390.

On Wednesday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record for a fourth session in a row (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-to-edge-lower-after-trump-fires-fbis-comey-2017-05-10), rising 0.1% to 6,129.14. The S&P 500 scraped out a 0.1% gain, but the DJIA finished 0.2% lower.

Higher oil prices were failing to support stock futures Thursday. U.S. crude prices added to Wednesday's gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-boosted-by-signs-us-crude-glut-is-shrinking-2017-05-11) with a 1.3% rise to $47.93 a barrel, on the heels of data showing the biggest weekly drawdown for inventory since December.

Calling the Fed's bluff: The prior session's moves came after the shock firing of FBI Director James Comey, but the stock market's reaction to this was fairly sanguine (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-why-the-stock-market-isnt-freaking-out-about-the-comey-firing-2017-05-10), despite questions over whether it would crimp U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to push through market-friendly policies.

Joel Kruger, currency strategist at LMAX Exchange, said that while politics could factor into stock gains, Federal Reserve policy will likely dictate the direction for equities.

"Conversations about a stock market top are certainly not without merit. But it has also been abundantly clear stocks will only be at risk when the market truly believes the Fed isn't going to fold its hand when it comes to forward guidance," Kruger wrote in emailed comments.

"We may be getting close to that point, but until then, investors will keep pushing their bets and calling the Fed's bluff," he said.

For the week so far, the Nasdaq is showing a 0.5% gain, while the Dow industrials are off 0.3% and the S&P 500 is flat.

Early Thursday, New York Fed President William Dudley said trade protectionism is a "dead end" that will eventually harm the U.S. economy, Reuters reported (http://www.nasdaq.com/article/in-trumps-shadow-fed-official-says-trade-barriers-a-dead-end-20170511-00297). The comments, in a speech on the benefits and challenges of globalization in Mumbai, India, are seen as implied criticism of President Donald Trump's policies, even though Dudley did not mention the U.S. leader by name.

As for economic data, weekly jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 236,000, while continuing claims fell to the lowest level since Nov. 1988. Low levels of layoffs underline a strong labor market.

U.S. producer prices showed a broad-based gain in April, which pushed the annual increase up to the largest advance in five years

Stock movers: Snapchat parent Snap (SNAP) tumbled 22% in premarket trading after the messaging app reported a $2.2 billion loss (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2017/05/10/snap-user-growth-to-be-key-focus-in-first-earnings-report-live-blog/) in its first set of earnings since going public.

Read: Snap's CEO is the key to that huge loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-snap-lost-22-billion-in-its-first-quarter-as-a-public-company-2017-05-10)

Shares of Macy's Inc.(M) dived 11% after the retailer reported a worse-than-expected slide in revenue in the first quarter.

Straight Path Communications Inc.(STRP) shares sank 20% in premarket after the company confirmed an agreement to be bought by Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ) in a deal that values Straight Path at a deep discount to Wednesday's closing price (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/straight-paths-stock-plunges-after-verizon-merger-deal-2017-05-11).

Whole Foods Market Inc.(WFM) shot up 3% in premarket trade after the grocery-store chain announced a new stock buyback plan () and released earnings that met forecasts.

Other markets: Asian markets finished higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-gains-lift-most-asian-markets-but-china-sags-on-liquidity-worries-2017-05-11), with China squeezing out a gain of 0.1% as investors fretted over liquidity worries. European stocks were trading mostly flat to lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/italian-banks-a-bright-spot-as-european-stocks-fall-back-2017-05-11). The FTSE 100 was holding steady (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-adrift-ahead-of-bank-of-englands-super-thursday-update-2017-05-11) ahead of the Bank of England's update on inflation and interest rates.

Read:Italian banks a bright spot as European stocks fall back (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/italian-banks-a-bright-spot-as-european-stocks-fall-back-2017-05-11)

Gold prices traded modestly higher. The dollar was mostly lower, except against the pound , which fell after disappointing U.K. industrial and trade data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-industrial-production-shrinks-on-warm-weather-2017-05-11).

The price of a single bitcoin reached a new milestone on Thursday, shooting past the $1,800 level for the first time. Bitcoin prices were up last up 4.9% to $1,827.55. Earlier in the week, bitcoin shot past $1,700 for the first time.

The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond was unchanged at 2.42%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2017 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)