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* Netflix plunges, weighs on Disney, media companies
* Wall Street main indexes headed for weekly declines
* Focus turning to Fed meeting for clarity on policy
* Indexes down: Dow 0.41%, S&P 0.81%, Nasdaq 1.24%
(Updates with mid-afternoon trading)
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes dropped on
Friday as Netflix shares plunged after a weak earnings report
that also weighed on rivals, putting stocks on course to close
out a gloomy week on a sour note.
The benchmark S&P 500 was set for its third straight week of
declines, while losses deepened for the Nasdaq after the
tech-heavy index earlier in the week confirmed it was in a
correction, closing down over 10% from its November peak.
Netflix shares tumbled 21%, weighing on the S&P 500
and the Nasdaq, after the streaming giant forecast weak
subscriber growth. Shares of competitor Walt Disney fell
5.8%, dragging on the Dow, while Roku slid 6.5%.
Netflix's share decline seems to be a big overshadow of the
markets today but we have also seen weakness in tech in general
since the start of this year," said Anu Gaggar, global
investment strategist at Commonwealth Financial Network.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 143.07 points,
or 0.41%, to 34,572.32, the S&P 500 lost 36.52 points, or
0.81%, to 4,446.21 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped
175.38 points, or 1.24%, to 13,978.65.
Communication services was the biggest declining
of the 11 S&P 500 sectors, dropping 2.4%. Defensive sectors real
estate, consumer staples and utilities
were the lone sectors in positive territory, rising
modestly.
Stocks have gotten off to a rocky start in 2022, as a fast
rise in Treasury yields amid concerns the Federal Reserve will
become aggressive in controlling inflation has particularly hit
tech and growth shares. The benchmark S&P 500 is down nearly 7%
so far this year.
Investors are keenly focused on next week's Fed meeting for
more clarity on the central bank's plans to tighten monetary
policy in the coming months, after data last week showed U.S.
consumer prices in December had the largest annual rise in
nearly four decades.
Between the Fed meeting and earnings, there is a lot that
the market could be worried about next week, Gaggar said.
Apple, Tesla and Microsoft are
among the large companies due to report next week in a busy week
of earnings results.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
2.50-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.65-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs and 22 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 10 new highs and 954 new lows.
(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York, Shreyashi Sanyal and
Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and
Cynthia Osterman)