* Netflix falls as subscriber growth slows
* Verizon shares fall after Q1 results
* Indexes up: Dow 0.43%, S&P 0.26%, Nasdaq 0.06%
(Updates prices to open)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Devik Jain
April 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones indexes
were higher on Wednesday after sliding for two straight
sessions, while the Nasdaq remained muted as Netflix kicked off
quarterly earnings for technology behemoths with a disappointing
report.
The streaming service provider NFLX.O tumbled 7.1% as it
reported slower subscriber growth in the first quarter after a
pandemic boom.
Shares of mega-cap firms, including Apple Inc AAPL.O ,
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Facebook Inc FB.O and Tesla Inc
TSLA.O , fell between 0.3% and 1.8%.
"Netflix is weighing on the tech sector for sure this
morning," said Dennis Dick, head of markets structure and a
proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC in Las Vegas.
"We get into the heart of all the major tech stocks
reporting next week and the first one didn't do that great and
now that lowers the bar for Apple and Microsoft etc."
Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with
communication services .SPLRCL , which houses Netflix, tumbling
over 1%.
The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR was down 0.6%,
pulled lower by Alaska Air Group Inc ALK.N and United Airlines
Holdings Inc UAL.OQ as concerns over a resurgence in
coronavirus cases globally offset optimism about recovery in
travel demand later in the year.
Anthem Inc ANTM.N rose 0.3% after the health insurer
raised its full-year profit target, as lower demand for
non-COVID-19 healthcare services helped it rein in medical costs
and beat quarterly profit estimates. Shares of bigger rival UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N gained
0.3%, helping support the Dow Jones index.
With the first-quarter earnings season picking up pace,
analysts expect profit for S&P 500 companies to jump 31.9% from
a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
At 10:08 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 145.52 points, or 0.43%, at 33,966.82, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 10.64 points, or 0.26%, at 4,145.58 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 7.89 points, or 0.06%, at 13,794.15.
Verizon Communications Inc VZ.N dropped 0.2% as it said it
lost more wireless subscribers than expected during the first
quarter. Shares of T-Mobile US Inc TMUS.O and AT&T Inc T.N
were also lower. U.S. railroad operator CSX Corp CSX.O fell 2.4% after it
missed estimates for first-quarter profit, hurt by frigid polar
vortex temperatures, ongoing pandemic disruptions and higher
fuel costs.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.46-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 47 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 39 new lows.