US open: Dow Jones trades higher, Netflix weighs on Nasdaq

dl exchange place wall st street pl new york city nyc ny nyse stock exchange dow jones sp nasdaq finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america — Exchange PlaceSharecast photo / Josh White

Major indices stocks were mixed early on Wednesday as Netflix shares weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq after revealing it had just seen the first decline in subscriber numbers since 2011 in Q1.

As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.75% at 35,172.28 and the S&P 500 was 0.21% firmer at 4,471.48, while the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.55% weaker at 13,544.91.

The Dow Jones opened 261.08 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the first session back from the Easter break.

Shares in streaming giant Netflix were down almost 39% in early trading after the company reported the first fall in subscribers in over a decade. Group revenues were $7.87bn, compared to $7.71bn in the fourth quarter, while diluted earnings per share came in at $3.53. Global streaming paid memberships were 221.64m, down on the fourth quarter's 221.84m and were expected to fall further in the second quarter to 219.64m.

Elsewhere, Procter & Gamble also reported earnings before the bell, with the consumer goods firm topping Wall Street expectations as price hikes drove higher razor and laundry detergent sales. Net sales rose 7% to $19.38bn, beating expectations for a print of $18.73bn.

Still to come, United Airlines and Tesla will both report earnings after the close.

Also in focus, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note eased back to 2.883% after hitting its highest level since December 2018 during the previous session, while West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures were broadly flat after sliding in the previous session on the back of the International Monetary Fund cutting its economic growth forecasts and warning of risks from higher inflation.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 5% week-on-week in the seven days ended 15 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, with total applications coming in at nearly half of what they were a year earlier. Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 3% on the week and were down 14% more than during the same week one year ago, while applications to refinance a property fell another 8% for the week and were 68% lower than the same week twelve months prior.

On another note, existing home sales fell 2.7% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 5.77m in March, according to the National Association of Realtors, the lowest since June 2020 and short of forecasts for a print of 5.8m. The decline marked the second consecutive month of falling home sales as the US housing market appeared to be feeling the impact of rising mortgage rates and inflation.

Dow Jones - Risers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $135.00 4.53%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $163.71 2.70%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $313.68 1.91%
Visa Inc. (V) $219.27 1.66%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $52.62 1.51%
3M Co. (MMM) $151.75 1.10%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.44 1.06%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $132.43 1.00%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $46.01 0.89%
American Express Co. (AXP) $188.77 0.85%