US STOCKS-Futures retreat as Sino-U.S. relations sour

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* Futures down: Dow 0.53%, S&P 0.45%, Nasdaq 0.03%

By Medha Singh
July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on
Wednesday as investors shunned risky assets after Washington
ordered a shutdown of the Chinese consulate in Houston,
escalating tensions between the world's two largest economies.
In response, China is considering the closure of U.S.
consulate in Wuhan, a person with direct knowledge of the matter
said. The news comes after three straight sessions of gains for
the S&P 500, driven by optimism about an eventual coronavirus
vaccine, further fiscal support for the pandemic-hit economy and
a batch of positive second-quarter reports.
The benchmark index is less than 4% below its record closing
high hit in February.
As the second-quarter earnings season continues, investors
are looking for clues to gauge how long it would take for
companies to emerge from the economic damage due to the
pandemic.
United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.O warned travel demand
would remain suppressed until there was a widely accepted
treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, which plunged the carrier to
a deep quarterly loss. Its shares fell 0.1% in premarket
trading. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd CHKP.O rose 0.4%
after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly net profit,
boosted by increased demand for network security as more people
work remotely. Investors will also keep an eye out for quarterly results
from Tesla Inc TSLA.O and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O after
markets close.
At 6:18 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 142 points,
or 0.53%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 14.75 points, or
0.45% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 3.25 points, or
0.03%.
Snap Inc SNAP.N declined 8.3% as it said a bump in user
growth at the start of coronavirus-induced lockdowns petered out
sooner than expected, and it forecast fewer current-quarter
users than the Wall Street consensus. President Donald Trump, in a shift in rhetoric and tone,
encouraged Americans on Tuesday to wear masks and warned the
coronavirus pandemic would get worse before it got better in his
first press briefing in months focused on the outbreak.
The United States reported 1,000 deaths from the disease on
Tuesday, surpassing the grim milestone for the first time since
June 10.