NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Even after the severe setback of the past few days, the US stock markets lack the strength to counteract this movement. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial fell 0.19 percent to 34,650 points in early trading on Friday. On a weekly basis, a loss of around three and a half percent is looming. For the market-wide S&P 500 
it went down in the morning (local time) by 0.90 percent to 4442 points.
A surprisingly weak forecast from Netflix for user numbers caused great disappointment, causing Netflix shares to collapse. Netflix was by far the biggest loser on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, down nearly 24 percent . The selection index again fell significantly more sharply, down 1.24 percent to 14,663 points. It fell to its lowest level since October 2021.
Netflix sent shockwaves through the tech sector, and the streaming industry in particular, with a massively disappointing outlook for subscriber numbers. The shares of other providers such as Walt Disney, ViacomCBS or FuboTV fell by four to seven percent.
The shock over Netflix runs deep and is grist to the mill of those who think tech stocks are overvalued. Because of concerns about inflation, the industry papers have been sold for weeks. “Rising interest rates and then even lower growth expectations,” commented market observer Jochen Stanzl from broker CMC Markets. In his view, Netflix “could be symptomatic of what lies ahead for the stock market in the coming weeks and months.”
Netflix shares fell to their lowest level since April 2020. The company expects only 2.5 million new customers for the current quarter. The forecast for new subscribers in the first quarter is not even half as high as expected, emphasized Mark Mahaney from the analysis company Evercore ISI. In addition, the strong dollar weighs on the company’s revenues in markets outside the United States. Operating and net income will decline according to management.
Schlumberger shares lost 1.9 percent despite positive quarterly figures. The equipment maker to the oil industry reported a 61 percent increase in profit for the fourth quarter. This and the higher quarterly sales exceeded analysts’ estimates.
Curevac and Novavax shares fell 11.5 and 4.6 percent, respectively. According to dealers, they suffered again from the prospects of an improving situation worldwide in the corona pandemic. The analytics company Airfinity had lowered sales expectations for the corona vaccines because of the Omicron variant, which is characterized by a milder course of infection.
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