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Stocks moved higher Wednesday, snapping a two-day losing streak as investors digested corporate results amid the backdrop of the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
In midday trading, the
was up 186 points, or 0.6%, while the
was also up 0.6%, and the tech-weighted
gained 0.7%.
(ticker: NFLX) and other stay-at-home stocks were outliers amid broader gains in the tech space. Shares fell 6.6% after earnings per share came in at $3.75, beating estimates of $2.97 on revenue of $7.16 billion, which was better than the expected $7.13 billion. Netflix’s subscriber growth slowed as states reopened, with global paid net subscriber additions coming in at 3.98 million, less than the 6.2 million expected. That reflects that the reopening means slower growth for tech companies with a stay-at-home focus.
(PTON) stock, for instance, was trading off 3.3%, while
(ZM) dipped 0.1%
The
rebounded 0.7% after the biggest one-day fall in four months, amid a fresh crop of upbeat results.
Asian stocks fell across the board, with the exception of a slight gain for the China
The
slid 2% as Covid-19 cases climbed in Japan, with Tokyo and Osaka possibly facing new lockdowns.
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“The cement of reality that is the earnings season is of no great help to a market trading on hope. Hope in the form of a cyclical recovery and a longer-term world where too many unicorns jostle for far too few slots,” said
Sebastien Galy,
senior macro strategist at Nordea, to clients in a note.
“This is the essence of a liquidity-fed rally and as the U.S. economy gains traction the debate on tapering should restart anew and with it higher US Treasury yields hitting growth,” said Galy.
Shares of
surged 3.6%, after the Dutch semiequipment maker raised its revenue guidance for 2021, citing a significant increase in demand, and said net profit for the first quarter of the year soared on net sales that came in ahead of its forecasts.
Shares of Dutch brewer
climbed 5.2%, after reporting higher net profit in the first quarter on the back of stronger volumes in more than 40 of its markets.
Shares of soccer clubs were on the move, after plans for an elite Super League fell apart as six English clubs pulled out, amid backlash from fans and threats to thwart it from the U.K. government. That leaves only Spanish and Italian clubs, and shares of
slid 13.7% in Milan, while
gained 1.5%.
(ANTM) shares were up 0.1% after the company reported a profit of $7 a share, beating estimates for $6.51, on revenue of $32.4 billion, ahead of forecasts of $33 billion.
(FSLR) shares were up 4% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform.
(MAT) shares rose 1.6% after Berenberg upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold.
(ZBRA) shares fell 1.9% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight.
(ISRG) gained 9.2% after reporting a first-quarter profit of $3.52 a share, easily topping estimates for $2.63. Sales came in at $1.29 billion, ahead of forecasts for $1.11 billion.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
(NCLH) rose 6.7% after getting upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
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