US STOCKS-Futures edge lower as Netflix tumbles

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* Futures dip: Dow 0.07%, S&P 0.05%, Nasdaq 0.16%

By Medha Singh
July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures slipped on Thursday
after streaming pioneer Netflix posted its first drop in U.S.
subscribers since 2011, kicking off earnings for the so-called
FANG group on a sour note.
Netflix Inc NFLX.O sank 11.2% premarket as it also missed
targets for new subscribers overseas at a time when it has
staked its future on global expansion. "The failure of Netflix to meet its already low subscriber
target will hit sentiment. It's not a great start to the "big
tech" earnings season, which shall continue with Microsoft's
results," said Ken Odeluga, analyst at Cityindex.
Meanwhile, shares of International Business Machines Corp
IBM.N fell 0.7% as its revenue missed estimates even though
profit beat on strong growth in its high-margin cloud business.
Earnings from FANG group are crucial for investors as gains
in their shares have led a rally in Wall Street's main indexes
so far this year.
Technology sector .SPLRCT has risen 30% and communication
services .SPLRCS have gained 22% this year, outperforming the
19% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX in the same period.
On the trade front, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
said that both sides are set to talk over a phone call on
Thursday. Investors also awaited results from railroad Union Pacific
Corp UNP.N , due at 8:00 a.m ET, a day after it tumbled 6% as
rival CSX Corp CSX.O issued a revenue warning, blaming
U.S.-China trade dispute. The transportation sector is
considered a barometer of U.S. economic health.
The three main U.S. indexes are headed for their sharpest
weekly drop in seven weeks after hopes of an interest rate cut
from the Federal Reserve helped them recovered from a slump in
May to hit record highs.
At 7:07 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 19 points,
or 0.07%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 1.5 points, or 0.05%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 13 points, or 0.16%.
Profit at S&P 500 companies is expected to rise 0.4% in
second quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
EBay Inc EBAY.O rose 5.4% after the e-commerce company
posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit, helped
by growth in its advertising and payments businesses.
Morgan Stanley MS.N shares flitted between slight gains
and losses shortly after it reported quarterly results, rounding
up earnings for the Wall Street banks, which have raised
concerns of lower interest rates hurting profits.
Qualcomm QCOM.O slipped 1.5% after the world's No.1
chipmaker was fined 242 million euros ($272 million) by the
European Commission for blocking a rival from the market about a
decade ago.