- US stocks ended Wednesday's session mixed, with Netflix's rout pressuring the Nasdaq.
- Netflix lost more than $50 billion in market cap during the trading day after reporting a loss of subscribers in Q1.
- Dow industrials pulled out a win as blue-chip companies reported strong earnings.
US stocks closed mixed Wednesday, with the Nasdaq turning lower as Netflix's stock took its worst beating in years on an unexpected decline in quarterly subscribers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose, powered in part by IBM and Procter & Gamble, which both reported strong earnings. But the tech-rich Nasdaq pulled back ahead of earnings late Wednesday from electric vehicle maker Tesla.
During the day, concerns about how consumers may be shifting spending in the face of high inflation helped drive down Netflix shares by more than 30%. The company late Tuesday said it lost 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter and forecast a loss of another 2 million in its current quarter. The stock during the session slid by the most in a decade and erased more than $50 billion in market capitalization.
Shares of Disney and other streaming services were punched lower on the alarm from Netflix.
Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 4,459.44, down 0.06%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,160.79, up 0.71%
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,453.07, down 1.22%
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square appears to have racked up a $400 million unrealized loss on the Netflix bet he made just three months ago.
Still, analysts remain upbeat about earnings season overall and what it means for the stock market this year.
"Recent market trends remain intact [with] ongoing relative strength in traditionally defensive sectors (staples, utilities) vs. longer-term growth sectors (technology) and continued resilience in energy," wrote Tom Hainlin, global investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, in a note to Insider.
"Corporate fundamentals remain positive and support rising equity prices with full-year 2022 S&P 500 EPS estimates inching higher, but companies' profit margin outlook amid rising input prices remain a key focal area."
Elsewhere in the markets, Russia faces a potential default after using rubles to make payments on dollar bonds, according to an industry-group ruling.
"The Big Short" author and investor Michael Burry warned Tesla's rivals would catch up with the electric-vehicle maker, just as Netflix's competitors are curbing its growth.
Oil prices advanced. West Texas Intermediate crude picked up 0.8% to $103.41 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.8% to $108.13.
Gold fell 0.3% to $1,953.60 per ounce. The 10-year yield fell 9 basis points to 2.84%.
Bitcoin turned lower, down 0.6% at $41,064.63.