Futures little changed after Dow breaches 22,000

[August 03, 2017]  By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors booked profits, a day after the Dow industrials breached the 22,000 mark for the first time.

* Apple's strong quarterly results were a key driver that helped the blue chip index cross the milestone.

* However, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were held back as other major tech stocks lost ground following recent strong gains that have made the sector the strongest performer in 2017. The S&P tech index is up 23 percent this year.

* The Dow has risen 11.4 percent and the S&P is up 10.6 percent in 2017, even as Wall Street loses confidence that President Donald Trump will be able to legislate his pro-growth agenda this year.

* Investors are also keeping an eye on the economic data for clues on the health of the economy ahead of the keenly awaited monthly payrolls data on Friday.

* The Labor Department may report that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 242,000 for the week ended July 29. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT)

* U.S. Commerce Department data is expected to show that factory goods orders rose 2.9 percent in June, compared with a fall of 0.8 percent in the previous month.

* Separately, the Institute for Supply Management is likely to report that its non-manufacturing index lowered slightly to 57.0 in July from 57.4 in June.

* Quarterly earnings continue to be in the spotlight as investors take a closer look at valuations to justify the recent runup in stocks.

* The S&P 500 is trading at around 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, well above its long-term average of 15 times.

The Wall St sign is picture in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

* At the same time, earnings of S&P 500 companies are now expected to have climbed 11.4 percent in the second quarter, up from an 8 percent rise estimated at the start of the month, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

* Shares of Tesla jumped 6.48 percent in premarket trading after the luxury electric car maker said its quarterly revenue more than doubled.

* Fitbit rose 4.54 percent as the wearable device maker reported a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly revenue.

* Aetna was up 3.14 percent after the health insurer's profit best expectations.

* Yum Brands fell 0.65 percent after the owner of KFC and Taco Bell reported a lower-than expected rise in quarterly sales at established restaurants worldwide.

Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were down 3 points, or 0.01 percent, with 17,934 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.75 points, or 0.03 percent, with 114,949 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 5.5 points, or 0.09 percent, on volume of 26,347 contracts.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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