Wall Street ended mixed Wednesday after strong gains for Netflix and some influential technology stocks helped offset losses across much of the US stock market.
- The S&P 500 rose 3.95 points, or 0.1%, to 4,868.55.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99.06 points, or 0.3%, to 37,806.39.
- The Nasdaq composite rose 55.97 points, or 0.4%, to 15,481.92.
Netflix leaped 10.7% after it said it added many more subscribers during the last three months of 2023 than analysts expected, the
AP reports. That took precedence for investors over the company's profit, which fell short of analysts' forecasts.
Also helping to bolster tech stocks was ASML, the Dutch company that's a major supplier to the semiconductor industry. It reported stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected, and its US-listed stock jumped 8.9%. Stocks elsewhere around the world rose after China announced measures to boost what's been a disappointingly weak recovery for the world's second-largest economy. Treasury yields were mixed after a preliminary report suggested growth for US business output is accelerating, while inflation pressures may be easing.
On Wall Street, Microsoft climbed 0.9% and finished the day with a total market value just short if $3 trillion. Because it's one of the largest stocks on Wall Street, its movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes than smaller stocks. It helped overshadow drops for the majority of stocks within the S&P 500, including a 3% fall for AT&T, following earnings reports that fell short of expectations. Kimberly-Clark fell 5.5% after the maker of Huggies and Kleenex reported weaker profit and revenue than expected. DuPont tumbled 14% after it gave forecasts for upcoming revenue and profit that fell well short of analysts' estimates. It said it's continuing to see weak demand from China, among other challenges. (More stock market stories.)
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