Dow futures edge higher; Tesla, Netflix drag Nasdaq lower

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Investing.com — U.S. stock futures traded in a mixed fashion Thursday, with the tech sector hit hard after disappointing results from both Netflix and Tesla.

By 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), the contract was up 55 points, or 0.2%, while traded 5 points, or 0.1%, lower and dropped 100 points, or 0.6%.

The benchmark indices on Wall Street closed higher Wednesday, with the blue chip gaining over 100 points, or 0.3%, to record its eighth straight positive close, its longest winning streak since September 2019.

Netflix, Tesla to drag Nasdaq lower

The tech-heavy is likely to be in the spotlight Thursday, after both Netflix (NASDAQ:) and Tesla (NASDAQ:), two of the companies that have been behind the index’s outsized gains this year, disappointed with their quarterly earnings.

Streaming giant Netflix reported second-quarter that fell short of expectations even after announcing the addition of 5.9 million new streaming customers from April through June. Its stock fell over 6% premarket.

Tesla stock fell 3% premarket after CEO Elon Musk indicated late Wednesday that he would cut prices despite the “turbulent times” as part of a price war that has already weighed heavily on the electric vehicle manufacturer’s margins.

IBM (NYSE:) stock fell 1% premarket after Big Blue’s second-quarter fell short of expectations, weighed by a decline in sales of its mainframe computers as businesses cut tech spending.

J&J heads up earnings slate

Earnings continue to pour in Thursday, with the likes of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:), homebuilder DR Horton (NYSE:), insurer Travelers (NYSE:), private equity giant Blackstone (NYSE:) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:) scheduled to report.

Investors will be listening to what executives say about business and consumer behavior, and what they have to say about the outlook for the remainder of the year.

The , and headline an otherwise sparse data calendar Thursday.

Crude market steady after official U.S. inventories

Oil prices steadied Thursday after losses this week on the back of a strengthening dollar, making crude more expensive for foreign buyers, and with U.S. inventories falling less than expected.

The announced Wednesday that U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 708,000 barrels last week, much lower than expectations for a 2.4 million barrel draw.

This suggests fuel demand was struggling in the world’s largest consumer despite the travel-heavy summer season, as it followed a bigger-than-expected build in inventories the prior week.

By 06:30 ET, the futures traded 0.2% higher at $75.43 a barrel, while the contract climbed 0.2% to $79.59. Both contracts are on course for losses of around 2% this week.

Additionally, rose 0.2% to $1,985.35/oz, while traded 0.1% higher at 1.1213.

(Oliver Grey also contributed to this report)

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