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Stocks open lower after two days of solid gains – Netflix climbs on earnings – BlackRock stock downgraded over ESG investments – Biden considering telling Americans to stop investing in Saudi Arabia
Stocks open lower on Wall Street on Wednesday following two days of solid gains. The S&P 500 slid 0.5%, and the NASDAQ composite dipped 0.8%, while the Dow Jones industrial average had little change, CNBC reported.
On the winning side, United Airlines climbed 4.6%, beating estimates.
Treasury yield climbs
The biggest losses on the NASDAQ were Chinese tech stocks, and on the S&P 500, the worst performer was Abbott labs which fell nearly 6%.
Treasury yields remain high and continue to climb, as the 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.09% on Wednesday, moving up from 4.02% on Tuesday.
Netflix shares jumped 11% after the streaming giant posted its earnings and revenue that beat estimates, backed by strong subscriber growth in the third quarter, CNBC reported. Netflix announced it picked up 2.4 million subscribers during the July-September period, as the company made a strong comeback after losing 1.2 million customers during the first half of the year, US News reported.
The value of BlackRock has been downgraded by multinational investment bank UBS over the increasing political risk of ESG investing. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance.
“We are downgrading BLK to Neutral based on environmental pressure to earnings and risk from the firm’s ESG positioning,” UBS analyst Brennan Hawken wrote, adding that BlackRock could face increased regulatory inspection and the possibility of diminished fund management business, PJ media reported. “As performance deteriorates and political risk from ESG has increased, we believe the potential for lost fund mandates and regulatory scrutiny has recently increased,” Hawken added.
President Joe Biden is considering telling American businesses to stop investing and expanding in Saudi Arabia, according to various reports, via Newsbreak. Prominent Democrats are calling for the US to re-examine its relationship with the kingdom after OPEC+ announced an oil production cut that goes into effect next month. Reportedly, the US will not be sending an emissary to the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, known as ‘Davos in the desert,’ set to take place next week, although major private US figures are slated to attend. NBC reported administration officials are considering discouraging US businesses from expanding future business from Saudi Arabia in the future.
