US open: Stocks trade lower despite solid Netflix earnings overnight

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

Wall Street stocks were in the red at the opening bell on Wednesday after Netflix posted solid earnings and subscriber growth overnight.

As of 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12% at 30,488.46, while the S&P 500 lost 0.46% to 3,702.78 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.41% weaker at 10,728.70.

The Dow opened 35.34 points lower on Wednesday, taking a small bit out of gains recorded in the previous session.

In the corporate space on Wednesday, Netflix shares surged in early trade after the streaming behemoth reported quarterly earnings and revenues that beat estimates and strong subscriber growth, while Procter & Gamble posted an earnings beat as higher prices helped offset a drop in volumes.

Elsewhere, United Airlines reported a third-quarter profit of $942.0m, down 8% year-on-year. Adjusted operating profits came to $2.81 per share, beating analysts' expectations by $0.53 as travel demand continued to grow throughout the period.

WD-40, Kinder Morgan, and Tesla will all issue their latest quarterly figures after the close.

Treasury yields were also in focus, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note advancing almost seven basis points to 4.078% and its two-year counterpart rising more than eight basis points to 4.524% at the open.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell for a fourth week in a row in the seven days ended 14 October, down 4.5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers' Association, as the 30-year mortgage rate hit 6.94% for the first time since 2002.

On another note, housing stats fell 8.1% to an annualised rate of 1.43m in September, according to the Census Bureau, down from a revised 1.56m in August and well and truly shy of market consensus estimates for a print of 1.47m. Building permits, on the other hand, increased 1.4% month-on-month to an annualised clip of 1.56m last month, beating market consensus expectations of 1.53m.

Still to come, the Federal Reserve's beige book will follow at 1900 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $172.85 3.64%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $130.98 2.03%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $165.71 1.84%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $99.58 1.12%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $250.54 0.54%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $41.99 0.47%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $33.24 0.44%
Boeing Co. (BA) $137.76 0.31%
American Express Co. (AXP) $146.41 0.29%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $123.21 0.22%