Wall Street set for mixed start after Netflix disappointment

Wall Street is set for a mixed open on Wednesday morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 virtually flat with rises of just 19 points and 1.5 points respectively while the Nasdaq Composite is showing a 0.12% or 21 point fall.

Tech shares are likely to come under pressure after Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) issued disappointing results after the US markets closed.

It reported just under 4mln new subscribers in the first quarter, compared to expectations of a 6mln rise. And estimates of 1mln new sign-ups in the second quarter was well below the previous forecast of 4.4mln and sharply down from 10mln for the same period last year.

No surprise investors are not chilling, marking Netflix shares down 8.3% at US$503.97 in pre-market trading.

Sophie Griffiths, market analyst at Oanda, said: “US futures are pointing to .. the tech-heavy Nasdaq underperforming its peers in the wake of Netflix’s results…

“The first big-tech company to report, investors were looking at these numbers to set the scene for the coming week as other big companies announce their earnings. Weaker subscriber numbers and poor projected customer growth ahead points to a sharp deceleration in the stay-at-home trade, which boosted tech across 2020.”

Four things to watch for on Wednesday:

• Companies reporting results today will include energy group NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE), health insurance firm Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM), semiconductor specialist Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) and real estate investment firm Crown Castle International Corp (NYSE:CCI)
• Investors will be keeping an eye on UiPath, the automation software group, as it prepares to IPO on the New York Stock Exchange this morning which could see it achieve a market cap of US$28bn
• Cooking equipment group Middleby Corp (NASDAQ:MIDD) will also be in focus after it agreed to acquire rival Welbilt in a US$2.9bn deal
• There is little happening on the macro front, however, some investors may be interested in the latest US mortgage applications data

Story by ProactiveInvestors