US Stock Futures Slip as Netflix Weighs on Nasdaq

New York (July 19)  Stock futures were slightly lower on Tuesday as key earnings from the likes of Netflix (NFLX) disappointed investors. S&P 500 futures were down 0.24%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat, and Nasdaq futures slid 0.24%.

Wall Street was on track to pull below records set on Monday. The S&P 500 and Dow rose to new records with only slight effort as a rally in tech helped to offset weakness in oil and political uncertainty in Turkey. The Dow eked out a new closing high of 18,533.05, mere points above its previous Friday record, while the S&P 500 scored a new high of 2,166.89.

Netflix fell sharply in premarket trading after falling short of analysts' estimates for subscriber numbers, a closely watched metric. The streaming service added 1.7 million international subscribers in its recent quarter, below its own forecast of 2.5 million. Earnings came in above estimates, though. Netflix earned 9 cents a share, three times consensus.

Yahoo! (YHOO) also reported a disappointing quarter. The Internet company reported its second-quarter loss widened to $440 million, while adjusted revenue, which excluded commissions paid for Web traffic, tumbled nearly 20%. Yahoo! made no mention of the possible sale of its core businesses, though Monday marked the final day for offers.

IBM (IBM) climbed after beating expectations in its second quarter. The tech giant earned an adjusted $2.95 a share, 6 cents more than forecast, while revenue fell 2.8% to $20.24 billion. The company is still struggling with growth, reporting its 17th straight quarter of declining sales.

Source: TheStreet