S&P 500 notches new record as Netflix surges
Wall Street stocks mostly rose on Wednesday, lifting the S&P 500 to a fresh record following strong Netflix results and data suggesting US economic health. Shares of Netflix surged more than 10 percent as it reported adding some 13 million subscribers in the most recent quarter, raising hopes about results from other tech giants. Analysts also cited favourable US purchasing managers' survey data from S&P Global that showed both manufacturing and services in expansion. The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent at 4,868, logging a third straight record. The Dow Jones declined 0.3 percent to 37,806, while the Nasdaq gained 0.4 percent to 15,481. The upbeat US data "continues the same trend that we saw last year when the economic growth was stronger than expected all year and the big slowdown that people were looking for never occurred," said LBBW's Karl Haeling. "This is overall a good situation for stocks because it gives you hope for a soft landing," he said. Besides Netflix, most other large tech companies including Amazon and Meta Platforms climbed higher ahead of earnings reports. Microsoft edged above US$3 trillion in market value before finishing the day just below it with a gain of 0.9 percent. Among other companies reporting results, diaper and paper product brand Kimberly-Clark dropped more than five percent after reporting weaker than expected earnings due in part to unfavourable currency movements. Others to move following earnings were Global Dynamics, which won 4.9 percent and Texas Instruments, which dropped 2.5 percent. (AFP)