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Netflix falls after downbeat forecast
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Abbott Labs, Intuitive Surgical jump after earnings
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Western Alliance surges as results allay deposit fears
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VIX falls to lowest since November 2021
(Updates with close of US market)
By Lewis Krauskopf, Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas
April 19 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended little changed on
Wednesday as investors digested a mixed bag of corporate
earnings, including upbeat reports from medical technology
companies, countered by weakness in Netflix shares.
The Dow slipped, weighed down by declines in Walt Disney Co and UnitedHealth Group Inc shares following
results from rivals in their respective industries.
Major equity indexes have been largely stable during the
early stages of a first-quarter earnings season that investors
expect to show tepid results.
"Corporate results are being seen as being in large part
company-specific news versus market news," said Art Hogan, chief
market strategist at B Riley Wealth. "If that keeps us
relatively calm and unchanged for now, while the sample set of
reporters is still quite small, I think that's a positive."
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 0.18
points, or 0.00%, to end at 4,154.69 points, while the Nasdaq
Composite gained 4.08 points, or 0.03%, to 12,157.49.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.29 points, or
0.23%, to 33,898.92.
The CBOE Volatility index , also known as Wall
Street's fear gauge, fell to its lowest point since November
2021 during the session.
Investors are looking for signs in corporate results that
inflation may be driving up costs or hurting consumer spending,
amid fears the economy may be on the cusp of a downturn.
S&P 500 companies overall are expected to post a 4.8%
decline in first-quarter earnings from the year-earlier period,
according to Refinitiv IBES.
"We seem stuck in this range, with those people who think
that there is going to be a recession coming and those people
who think there is going to be a soft landing," said Rick
Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments.
Netflix Inc shares slid after the video-streaming
pioneer offered a lighter-than-expected forecast.
Shares of Elevance Health Inc fell after the
insurer's strong quarterly profit failed to ease investor
concerns over regulatory hits to the company's government-backed
insurance business.
Elsewhere in healthcare, Abbott Laboratories shares
jumped after the medical device maker said most delayed
non-urgent medical procedures had resumed globally three years
into the COVID-19 pandemic. Intuitive Surgical shares
soared after its quarterly revenue and profit topped estimates.
Shares of Western Alliance Bancorp surged after the
company posted stronger-than-expected earnings, helping lift the
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF .
Regional banks have been in focus after the failure of
Silicon Valley Bank last month prompted concerns about systemic
risks.
(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York, Sruthi Shankar and
Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Richard Chang)
