ASX set to slip, Wall Street gets Netflix, AI boost

Netflix, Oracle and other technology stocks are lifting US indexes as their profits pile higher and excitement builds around the moneymaking prospects of artificial intelligence.

The S&P 500 was up 0.8 per cent in midday trading and on track to surpass its all-time high set early last month. The Dow Jones was up 136 points, or 0.3 per cent, as of 11:55 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.5 per cent higher. The Australian sharemarket is set to retreat, with futures at 4.54am AEDT pointing to a fall of 18 points or 0.2 per cent, at the open. The ASX added 0.3 per cent on Wednesday.

Netflix helped lead the way after it said live events like football games and a Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight helped it add nearly 19 million subscribers during the latest quarter. It also reported stronger profit than analysts expected and said it’s raising subscription prices in the United States and other countries. Netflix jumped 11.1 per cent.

The streaming giant joined a lengthening list of companies that have topped analysts’ profit expectations for the end of 2024. Such results support their stock prices and counteract the downward push they’ve felt from rising Treasury yields in the bond market.

The rising yields, which were caused in part by worries about stubborn inflation and the US government’s swelling debt, had knocked down stocks and halted their record-breaking run that carried through 2024, at least briefly.

Procter & Gamble rose 2.9 per cent after the company behind Charmin, Crest and Pampers reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It also said it’s sticking with its financial forecasts for the full fiscal year, even though rising commodity costs and the stronger value of the US dollar against other currencies are hurting its results.

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Travelers climbed 4.2 per cent after likewise topping analysts’ expectations for profit. The insurer said gains for its investments and growth in net written premiums helped it overcome losses created by Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida’s Gulf coast in October, and other catastrophes.

Some of the market’s most forceful pushes upward came from AI-related companies. Oracle climbed 6.5 per cent to add to its 7.2 per cent rise the day before, ahead of the expected announcement that came about Stargate, a joint venture the White House said will start building out data centres and the electricity generation needed for the further development of AI in Texas.