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Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened a fraction higher on Tuesday, supported by a number of positive earnings report but held back by disappointment at heavyweight Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s earnings.
By 9:40 AM ET (1340 GMT), all three main indices were struggling to extend the gains that they made on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 29 points, or 0.1%, at 35,486 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1%.
To a large degree, this was due to disappointment at guidance from Netflix after the close on Tuesday. The streaming giant said it would have negative free cash flow in the current quarter due to high amortization costs after a heavy investment in original content. That investment had brought in nearly 1 million more new subscribers than expected in the third quarter, but revenue failed to keep pace with subscriber growth, and user numbers in the higher-paying but largely saturated North American market only inched up. There was also little sign of the company making significant money out of its diversification into videogaming in the near term.
Netflix stock fell 2.5%, downgraded by, among others, Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn).
Among the stocks supported by better-than-expected results were Verizon (NYSE:VZ), which added 2.1% after the carrier posted a solid gain in high-paying 5G mobile subscribers, raising its guidance and its dividend in the process. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stock gained 4.0%, and Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) stock rose 6.7%, the latter pulling UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) stock up by another 2.3%. Both Anthem’s and Abbott’s results benefited from a return to normality in the health care system as the pandemic receded.
By contrast, Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) stock plunged 16% after Politico reported that it is struggling to meet quality standards dictated by the Food and Drug Administration for its Covid-19 vaccine.
