Stocks to Watch on Wall Street: Tesla, American Express, and Philip Morris Among Movers

(Updated with futures contracts on indices, results of American Express and Philip Morris, pre-market prices)

PARIS, April 20 (Reuters) – Top stocks to watch on Thursday on Wall Street, where futures on major indices point to an opening down 0.38% for the Dow Jones

.DJI

0.60% for the Standard & Poor’s 500

.SPX

and 0.87% for the Nasdaq

.IXIC

:

* TESLA

TSLA.O

reported a lower-than-expected first-quarter gross margin on Wednesday, on the heels of a campaign of price cuts for its vehicles intended to fuel demand amid an economic downturn and fend off growing competition. The stock was down 7.7% in forecourt and NIKOLA trading

NKLA.O

RIVIAN

RIVN.O

and bright

LCID.O

fell 2.2% to 3.2% in its wake.

* IBM

IBM.N

beat Wall Street expectations for its first-quarter profit and reported better-than-expected demand for IT services, pushing its stock up 1.8% ahead of the open.

* AT&T

T.N

fell nearly 4% in pre-market after posting quarterly revenue below expectations on Thursday, amid intensifying competition from VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS

VZ.Women

et T-MOBILE US

TMUS.O

.

* BLACKSTONE

BX.N

reported on Thursday distributable earnings per share down 36% in the first quarter, in a context of slowdown in the real estate market. The title yielded 1% in transactions before the opening.

* AMERICAN EXPRESS

AXP.N

dropped 1.2% in trading before the opening of Wall Street after the publication of earnings per share for the first quarter of 2.40 dollars against 2.66 expected. However, the group confirmed its financial forecasts for the full year.

* PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL

PM.N

– The maker of Marlboro cigarettes on Thursday lowered its profit forecast for the full year, due to higher tobacco leaf prices, energy and labor costs work, which weighs on the title down 2% in pre-market.

* ALCOA

AA.Women

fell 3.7% in pre-market after reporting, under the first quarter, a net loss more marked than expected and a turnover below expectations.

* LAS VEGAS SANDS

LVS.N

– The casino and hotel operator reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, benefiting from higher visitor numbers in Singapore and Macau.

* BED BATH & BEYOND

BBBY.O

fell 14.4% in pre-market trading, the Wall Street Journal having reported that the housewares retailer was preparing to file for bankruptcy this weekend.

* ZIONS BANCORPORATION

ZION.O

– The regional bank fell 4.5% in preview after the publication Wednesday evening of a quarterly profit below expectations due in particular to an increase in provisions to cover possible losses on loans.

(Laetitia Volga and Claude Chendjou, edited by Matthieu Protard)