US Stock Futures Retreat After Dow Notches Seven Record Sessions

New York (July 21)  Stock futures were in retreat on Thursday as investors looked to consolidate some gains after the Dow Jones Industrial Average's record-breaking run.

S&P 500 futures was down 0.09%, Dow futures fell 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures were flat.

The Dow clocked its seventh straight record close on Wednesday on better-than-expected earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) , the best performing stock in the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 also notched a new record.

Earnings continued to come in at a breakneck pace. The second-quarter earnings season is now roughly one-fifth complete. The second-quarter blended earnings estimate is down 3.8%, according to Thomson Reuters. Excluding energy, earnings improve to 0.1% growth, a sign the earnings recession is on the mend.

Intel (INTC) fell in premarket trading after weak quarterly growth in its server CPU segment, which is seen as the long-term solution to counteract weak PC sales. Sales in the segment grew 5% over the quarter, slowing from 9% growth in the first quarter. Overall earnings topped estimates.

Qualcomm (QCOM) surged thanks to unexpected strength in its chips segment over its recent quarter. Mobile chip shipments totalled 201 million over the third quarter, above Qualcomm's target of between 175 million and 195 million. Total revenue rose 4% to $6 billion, above estimates of $5.58 billion.Southwest Airlines (LUV) reported a disappointing quarter, missing both analysts' profit and sales forecasts. The airline earned an adjusted $1.19 a share in its June-ended quarter, 2 cents shy of estimates, while revenue of $5.38 billion fell short of $5.40 billion expected. Its third-quarter outlook also missed expectations.

Source: TheStreet