US pre-open: Stocks seen muted but Tesla set for gains after earnings

US futures looked set for a muted open on Wall Street on Thursday after the Dow breached the 22,000 level for the first time in the previous session, although Tesla was in for some gains after its quarterly earnings.

At 1105 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures were flat. On Wednesday, the Dow pushed through the 22,000 mark for the first time as shares in tech giant Apple hit a record high following well-received third-quarter numbers.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "While there are still a large number of companies reporting second quarter earnings on Thursday 0 43 from the S&P 500 - attention is shifting towards tomorrow’s US jobs report and today’s Bank of England decision, otherwise known as 'Super Thursday'. The BoE has been one of the central banks that has become much more hawkish in recent months and up until a few weeks ago, was seen as possibly following in the footsteps of the Bank of Canada and raising interest rates.

"The US won’t fall off the radar today, with a plenty of economic data being released throughout the session. While tomorrow’s jobs report is widely regarded as the biggest release each month, the ISM-non manufacturing PMI, Markit services PMI, jobless claims and factory orders numbers all provide crucial insight into the economy, particularly the two reports focused primarily on the outlook for the all-important services sector. We can therefore expect plenty of interest around these releases, particularly as labour market aside, the data this year hasn’t blown anyone away."

In corporate news, electric car maker Tesla was up 6.3% in pre-market trade after it reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss late on Wednesday and said it was averaging more than 1,800 net reservations a day for its new Model 3.

Meanwhile, American International Group edged higher in pre-market trade after it posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit late on Wednesday.

Earnings are due ahead of the open from Kellogg, Aetna, Dish Network and Allergan, as well as Yum Brands and Clorox.

On the data front, initial jobless claims are due at 1330 BST, while Markit's services PMI is at 1445 BST and the ISM non-manufacturing PMI is at 1500 BST, along with factory orders.