NEW YORK: The broad-based S&P 500 treaded water early Tuesday following mixed earnings results, while strong Netflix profits boosted the Nasdaq.
Netflix was the day's biggest earnings winner among prominent companies, surging nearly 10 percent after reporting better-than-expected gains in its global subscriber base and a quarterly profit that nearly tripled from a year ago.
The results were propelled by popular original programs such including "The Crown" and "Stranger Things."
About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 26,186.32, down 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 was up slightly at 2,833.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 7,426.94.
Among others reporting, Procter & Gamble fell 2.4 percent after it reported a three percent rise in net sales to $17.4 billion. Net earnings dropped 68 percent to $2.5 billion, but that was in part because it faced comparison against the year-ago period which boasted a large-one time gain from a divestiture.
Among other companies reporting, Johnson & Johnson fell 2.1 percent and Travelers jumped 3.0 percent.
Some investors are eyeing a pullback in stocks for a market that is "overbought on a short-term basis," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, but he added that there is reason to question that outcome.
"A consolidation phase wouldn't surprise anybody, yet the staying factor for many in the market already is that a lot of sidelined participants are hoping for a pullback to put money to work," he said.
"In other words, they see a qualifying basis to remain in the market knowing there are interested buyers waiting in the wings who could provide the fuel for the next leg higher."
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