U.S. stocks were mixed in afternoon trading on Wednesday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq was dragged down by bleak Netflix earnings, while bond yields dipped and oil regained ground.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both looked set for a second day of gains, but the Nasdaq Composite fell sharply after Netflix reported it had lost subscribers for the first time in over a decade, casting gloom over the tech sector.
The Dow was up 1.03% Wednesday afternoon, while the S&P 500 rose 0.32% on stronger corporate earnings elsewhere. The Nasdaq dropped 0.7%.The MSCI all-country stock index was 0.54% firmer.
“The Netflixes of the world, the Pelotons of the world are looked at with more scepticism as the market questions the success they have from a fundamental standpoint during the pandemic,” said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta.
U.S. Treasury yields dipped after hitting three-year highs on Wednesday as buyers emerged. Benchmark 10-year yields were last at 2.8455%, after reaching 2.981% overnight, the highest since Dec. 2018.
Investors got a fresh glimpse into the Federal Reserve’s economic outlook when it issued its “Beige Book” of economic conditions from late February to early April on Wednesday. The central bank reported the economy expanded at a moderate pace during that time, though business reported issues with high inflation and worker shortages.
