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 sell-off on Friday continued unabated after disastrous statements from Netflix about the number of subscribers, especially in the case of tech stocks. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial lost a further 0.40 percent to 34,578 points, but was still doing comparatively well. On a weekly basis, however, a loss of 3.7 percent is looming.
The market-wide S&P 500 went down 0.89 percent to 4443 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost even more, which is now down nearly 13 percent from November’s record high. All three indices had meanwhile turned positive again on Friday; However, investors quickly used this recovery to sell shares again, which sent the stock market barometers plummeting again.
A surprisingly weak forecast by Netflix for user numbers caused great disappointment, causing Netflix shares to plummet to their lowest level since April 2020. With a slump of more than 20 percent, the papers were by far the biggest losers in the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100. The selection index again fell significantly more sharply, down 1.41 percent to 14,637 points. It fell to its lowest level since October 2021.
For the current quarter, the company expects only 2.5 million new customers. 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.
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 sent shockwaves through the tech sector, and the streaming industry in particular, with its disappointing outlook for subscriber numbers. The shares of other providers such as Walt Disney, ViacomCBS or FuboTV fell by six to eight percent.
The shares of vaccine manufacturers were also under pressure again. 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. The price losses for Cirevac, Moderna, Biontech and Novavax ranged from 4 to almost 14 percent./bek/he
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