Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Zips Higher as Netflix Earnings Impress
The latest housing data showed existing home sales fell again in June as home prices kept rising.


Tech stocks were the clear Wall Street winners on Wednesday – thanks to a well-received earnings report from Netflix (NFLX). Its shares added to Tuesday's big gains, jumping 7.4% after the video streaming giant reported a bottom-line beat in the second quarter, as well as a slimmer-than-expected subscriber loss.
And NFLX's strong rally lifted its fellow growth stocks, with names like Amazon.com (AMZN, +3.9%) and Meta Platforms (META, +4.2%) seeing solid upside.
As such, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.6% to 11,897 – easily outpacing the S&P 500 Index (+0.6% at 3,959) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2% at 31,874) in today's trading.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
While most eyes were on Netflix, there were other notable headlines, including a report from the National Association of Realtors that showed sales of existing homes fell 5.4% sequentially in June to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.12 million. This marked the fifth-straight monthly decline in existing homes sales and the weakest rate since June 2020.
But home prices rose. Specifically, the median home price in the U.S. rose 13.4% year-over-year in June, to a record $416,000.
"Existing home sales continue to slide as the consumer pulls back amid multi-decade lows in affordability," says Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network. "The combined effect of rising financing costs and home prices is starting to have a real impact on the real estate market, with upward price momentum likely to stall in the second half of the year as supply greatly outpaces demand. Budgets are tighter than ever as the consumer combats runaway inflation, and housing is one area that's falling victim to waning demand."
Other news in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 1.6% to 1,827.
- U.S. crude futures fell 0.9% to finish at $99.88 per barrel.
- Gold futures slipped 0.6% to settle at $1,700.20 an ounce.
- Biogen (BIIB) fell 5.8% following its earnings report. In the second quarter, BIIB saw revenue fall 7% year-over-year to $2.6 billion as sales of the company's spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) drug Spinraza declined 14% amid increased competition. Additionally, Biogen's Alzheimer's treatment, Aduhelm, took in just $100,000 in sales over the three-month period, down from $1.6 million in sales one year ago. Still, total revenue beat analysts' consensus estimate, as did BIIB's earnings of $5.25 per share.
- Baker Hughes (BKR) was another post-earnings loser, shedding 8.3% in the wake of its results. The oil and gas equipment company posted adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share, well below the 22 cents per share analysts, on average, were expecting. Revenue of $5.1 billion also fell short of the consensus estimate. "The demand outlook for the next 12 to 18 months is deteriorating, as inflation erodes consumer purchasing power and central banks aggressively raise interest rates to combat inflation," said Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Baker Hughes, in the company's press release.
Bitcoin's Back, Baby!
Also drawing attention today was Bitcoin, as the cryptocurrency continued its recent rally. Bitcoin hit a one-month peak of $24,265 today before easing back to the $23,665 price point. (Bitcoin markets don't close; price taken at 4 p.m. ET.) It is now up 26% from its late-June low near $18,800.
"The last week has seen Bitcoin shrug off bouts of risk aversion in the broader markets and then outperform in periods of positivity," says Craig Erlan, senior market analyst at currency data provider OANDA. "Perhaps it's a relief rally at the newsflow not deteriorating further. Or a final push at creating a bottom. Whatever it is, Bitcoin has hit a five-week high and that may start tempting people back in."
The recent volatility in Bitcoin reminds us that it and other digital currencies remain highly speculative assets that only those with strong stomachs for risk should consider. Still, for those who want to get more acquainted with the space, try brushing up on the most popular cryptocurrencies or the top crypto mining stocks.
Investors will also want to learn the ins and outs of decentralized finance, also known as DeFi, which is a growing collection of financial tools built on top of the blockchain, the same technology that powers crypto. Here, we've compiled a "DeFi Dictionary" – a primer to help you become familiar with this new frontier of finance. Check it out.
Karee Venema was long AMZN as of this writing.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Rally Fades on Mixed AI Revolution News: Stock Market Today
All three main U.S. equity indexes opened higher but closed lower as a seven-session winning streak for the S&P 500 came to an end.
-
Stretch Your Holiday Shopping Budget Further with These Under-$50 Gifts That Don't Feel Cheap
Amazon October Prime Day is the perfect chance to nab some under-$50 gifts that feel more expensive than they are (because normally they would be).
-
Rally Fades on Mixed AI Revolution News: Stock Market Today
All three main U.S. equity indexes opened higher but closed lower as a seven-session winning streak for the S&P 500 came to an end.
-
S&P, Nasdaq Hit New Highs: Stock Market Today
A late-day rally wasn't enough to lift the Dow into the green as its six-session winning streak came to an end.
-
Dow Adds 238 Points as UNH, CAT Pop: Stock Market Today
The lack of a September jobs report didn't seem to worry market participants, with the data delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown.
-
Stocks at New Highs as Shutdown Drags On: Stock Market Today
The Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all notched new record closes Thursday as tech stocks gained.
-
S&P 500 Sees New Highs on Shutdown Day: Stock Market Today
Most of its components were in the red, but the S&P 500 Index still managed to hit a new intraday all-time high.
-
Stocks Close September on a High Note: Stock Market Today
A little bit of late risk-on behavior was enough to lift stocks into the green on the last day of September.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Bank of America Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Bank of America stock has been a massive buy-and-hold bust.
-
Investors Take Stock of Shutdown Talk: Stock Market Today
Whether we'll have a Jobs Friday this week depends on if we have a government shutdown in Washington.