23 07 US PRE OPEN

US Futures remain firm - Watch TSLA, MSFT, AMZN, TWTR

The S&P 500 Futures remain on the upside after they closed higher yesterday as investors seemed to look past escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.

Later today, the U.S. Labor Department will report initial jobless claims in the week ended July 18 (1.30 million expected). The Conference Board will release its Leading Index for June (+2.1% on month expected).

European indices are posting a tentative rebound. Germany's GfK Consumer Confidence Index for August was released at -0.3 (vs -4.5 expected). France's INSEE has posted July indicators on business confidence at 82 (vs 86 expected) and manufacturing confidence at 82 (vs 84 expected). The European Commission will post July Consumer Confidence Index later today (-12.0 expected).

Asian indices closed mixed. Australia Q2 NAB Business Confidence was released at -15, vs -12 previously.

WTI Crude Oil futures are resuming their up trends. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude-oil stockpiles increased 4.90 million barrels last week, contrary to a reduction of 1.95 million barrels expected.

Gold gains ground for a fifth straight session and the US dollar hit a four-month low on geopolitical tensions.

Gold rose 4.99 dollars (+0.27%) to 1876.41 dollars.

The dollar index fell 0.07pt to 94.919.to 1.2703.

U.S. Equity Snapshot

Tesla (TSLA), the electric-vehicle maker, reported second quarter adjusted EPS of 2.18 dollars, beating estimates, up from an LPS of 1.12 dollar a year ago, on revenue of 6.0 billion dollars, above forecasts, down from 6.3 billion dollars a year earlier. The stock was upgraded to "market perform" from "underperform" at Cowen.

Source: TradingView, Gain Capital

Microsoft (MSFT), the software development company, lost ground after hours despite posting quarterly EPS and sales that beat estimates. The company said "that transactional license purchasing continued to slow particularly in small and medium businesses", and that "LinkedIn was negatively impacted by the weak job market and reductions in advertising spend."

Amazon.com (AMZN), the e-commerce giant, might be in early talks to buy a 9.9% stake in Reliance Retail, according to ET Now.

Twitter (TWTR), the social network, posted second quarter average monetizable daily active users of 186 million, beating estimates.

Dow Inc (DOW), a diversified chemical manufacturing company, reported second quarter sales down 24% to 8.35 billion dollars, above estimates. Operating LPS was 0.26 dollar, wider than expected, vs an EPS of 0.86 dollar a year earlier. The company said it will cut workforce by 6%.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) unveiled second quarter operating sales down 82.9% to 1 billion dollars, but above estimates. Adjusted net loss was 1.63 dollar, narrower than expected, vs an EPS of 1.37 dollar a year ago.

Kraft Heinz (KHC), the food and beverage manufacturer, was downgraded to "sell" from "neutral" at Guggenheim.

Kinder Morgan (KMI), one of the largest midstream energy firms in North America, unveiled second quarter adjusted EPS of 0.17 dollar, as anticipated, down from 0.22 dollar a year ago, on revenue of 2.6 billion dollars, missing expectations, down from 3.2 billion dollars in the prior year. The company expects full year adjusted Ebitda to be below its original forecast by "slightly more than 8%".

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), the fast food restaurant chain, announced second quarter adjusted EPS of 0.40 dollar, above estimates, down from 3.99 dollars a year ago on revenue flat at 1.4 billion dollars, just ahead of the consensus. However, the stock slipped in extended trading, on profit taking after having gained more than 41% year to date through July 23rd close.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS), a global operator of casino resorts, disclosed second quarter adjusted LPS of 1.05 dollar, worse than anticipated, down from an EPS of 0.72 dollar a year ago on net revenue of 98.0 million dollars, significantly missing estimates, down from 3.3 billion dollars in the year before.

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