US Markets
Update: Equities Fall Amid Netflix Sell-Off; Oil Climbs as Middle East Tensions Rise
(Updates with market moves at the end of the day and weekly index changes.)US equities declined Friday as Netflix (NFLX) shares sold off, capping a losing week for Wall Street amid renewed tensions in the Middle East that drove oil prices higher.The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.4% to close at 25,520.24, while the S&P 500 dropped 1% to 7,457.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8% to settle at 52.146.42. Barring energy, all sectors ended in the red, led by communication services.Netflix (NFLX) shares slumped 7.3% Friday, among the worst performers on the S&P 500. The steaming giant's move to annual engagement reporting and its soft US and Canada revenue in the second quarter apparently weighed on the stock, BofA Securities said in a note.Netflix's June-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street's estimate, results released late Tuesday showed.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 4% at $82.14 a barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 4.3% to $87.82. The WTI was headed for its biggest weekly gain since early March, while Brent was on track for its steepest weekly rise since mid-April.Iran has hit Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, while Tehran also claimed it targeted US military assets in Oman and Bahrain, CNN reported Friday."Energy and refined fuel flows through the Strait of Hormuz continues to slow amid the escalating conflict between the US and Iran," Saxo Bank said in a report. "The renewed disruption has interrupted the recent recovery in regional supply, reviving concerns about tighter global markets."US Treasury yields were mixed, with the two-year rate up 2.7 basis points at 4.18% and the 10-year rate falling 1.8 basis points to 4.55%.This week, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell 2.9% and 1.6%, respectively, following their two consecutive weekly gains. The Dow dipped 0.9% to log its second straight weekly decline."Beyond concerns about the latest flare-up in oil, arguably the bigger concern for policymakers is the inflationary impact of the boom in (artificial intelligence) spending," Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Financial Group, said in a report Friday.In other corporate news, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) shares sank 14% Friday, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. Growth in the company's da Vinci robotic surgery procedures in the US moderated due in part to changes in Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, even as it reported better-than-expected quarterly results late Thursday.SpaceX (SPCX) share fell 5.4%. The company's Starship rocket triggered an "automatic launch abort," with the next launch to be rescheduled possibly in a few days, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a Thursday post on X.Travelers (TRV) shares jumped 9.2%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Dow. The property and casualty insurer's second-quarter earnings unexpectedly increased year over year, while its written premiums came in ahead of market estimates.In economic news, US consumer sentiment this month hit its highest level since February amid easing price pressures at the pump, though renewed tensions in the Middle East could weigh on confidence going forward, according to a survey by the University of Michigan.US housing starts increased more than expected last month amid a sharp jump in multi-family projects, government data showed.Gold was up 0.7% to $4,020.50 per troy ounce, while silver gained 0.5% to $56.44 per ounce.
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