** Shares of home improvement retailer Home Depot HD.N up ~2% at $386.56 premarket

** Co beats first-quarter sales estimates on steady demand

** Posts quarterly sales of $39.86 billion vs analysts' estimates of $39.31 billion - data compiled by LSEG

** Co maintains annual sales forecast for growth of 2.8%

** Logs adjusted profit of $3.56 per share vs estimates of $3.60 per share

** Up to last close, stock was down 2.5% YTD

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru)

((AnujaBharat.Mistry@thomsonreuters.com))