Netflix earnings and tech stocks boost S&P 500, Nasdaq to closing highs
Three main benchmarks achieve sixth straight weekly gain
Netflix jumps on growth forecast
CVS falls after replacing CEO
American Express, SLB down following results
Updates to close
By David French
Oct 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 andthe Nasdaq ended higher on Friday, boosted by an earnings-driven jump in Netflix shares and broader gains across technology stocks.
All three major Wall Street benchmarks comfortably secureda sixth straight weekly gain, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing largelyunchanged a day after posting a record closing high.
Shares of Netflix NFLX.O jumped after the streaming giant topped Wall Street estimates for subscriber additions and said it expected continued growth through the end of the year.
Many of the so-called Magnificent Seven techstocks, which have driven much of Wall Street's rally this year, rose.
Apple AAPL.O gained after data showed a sharp increase in new iPhone sales in China, while chip heavyweight Nvidia NVDA.O advanced afterBofA Global Research hiked its price target on the stock.
Netflix's increase lifted the communication services sector .SPLRCL, making it the largest gainer among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, while information technology .SPLRCT rose.
"It's kind of the 'what's not to like' market," said David Waddell, chief executive of Waddell & Associates, citing positive economic data, disinflation and upbeat earnings and forecasts from corporate America.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 23.05 points, or 0.39%, to end at 5,864.52 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 115.30 points, or 0.63%, to 18,488.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 37.96 points, or 0.09%, to 43,277.01.
The Dow was weighed down by American Express AXP.N, which lost ground afterthe credit card company's quarterly revenue missed estimates.
Financial companies have had a broadly positive earnings season so far. The S&P Banks index .SPXBK slipped slightly though, ending its string of wins at five.
The upbeat earnings of financial companies, and broadly positive economic data, have helped sustain the three main indexes' grind upwards in recent days.
However, stretched valuations - the S&P 500 is trading at nearly 22 times forward earnings - along with high expectations for corporate results and potential volatility around the Nov. 5U.S. presidential election, could leave stocks vulnerable to a pullback.
David Waddell of Waddell & Associates noted though that strong corporate earnings could override any political considerations or concerns about overdone valuations.
"We have gotten all we're going to get from multiple expansion, so I think the path forward is completely reliant on earnings," he said. "We're priced for pretty-darn-good earnings, so it could create a disturbance if we don't get them, but absent of recession, I think the bull is intact."
Small-cap stocks have attracted investor buying in recent days, with both the Russell 2000 .RUT and S&P Small Cap 600 .SPCY outperforming major indexes for the week. Both the Russell 2000 and the S&P Small Cap 600 were down onFriday.
Energy .SPNY was the weakest of the S&P sectors, bogged down by lower oil prices and a decline in SLB SLB.N after it posted earnings below expectations. This dragged down fellow oilfield services providers Baker Hughes BKR.O and Halliburton HAL.N.
CVS Health CVS.N slumped after it replaced CEO Karen Lynch with company veteran David Joyner and withdrew its 2024 profit forecast.
The news also weighed on other health insurers, including CignaCI.N and Elevance Health ELV.N.
Meanwhile, U.S. listings of Chinese companies moved higher after China's central bank launched funding schemes aimed at boosting the equity market.
In economic data, single-family housing starts increased 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.027 million units in September.
Netflix returned more to shareholders in 20 years https://reut.rs/3YsYfzS
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru and David French in New York; Editing by Pooja Desai and Richard Chang
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
