Equity market flat with more earnings release

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As investors digest new earnings set, most indices are largely flat, as there was no major economic data during the trading day. Banks’ earnings were mixed. While Bank of America top estimates, we see cracks in the Goldman Sachs trading division. Consumers’ brands such as Johnson & Johnson’s earnings exceeded Wall Street estimates.

The market remains steady as Atlanta Fed President Raphael voiced out during a CNBC interview that he sees another rate hike and then a pause for some time to allow the monetary tightening impact to set in.

Another rate hike is almost fully priced in

With the recent economic data still showing some resilience, most investors believed that the economy could still weather another 0.25% rate hike which is now largely priced in for May 3 FOMC meeting.

Netflix – A mixed set of results on a weaker outlook

The first quarter result largely aligned with major Wall Street estimates. New subscribers stood at 1.75 million, falling short of the 2.25 million expectations. It has forecast a decent set of cashflow for the year to $3.5 billion, higher than the previous forecast of $3 billion minimum. It also signalled the expectation of accelerating shares repurchased during 2023.

The focus of investors has been its “paid sharing” program. So far, the company seemed pleased with the result and saw average revenue per membership on a global scale fall slightly by 1% on a similar previous quarter.

It does expect that the launch of paid sharing should help boost its membership and general business meaningfully. With an eye on cost control and expense management, investors seem delighted with the progress made by Netflix’s management team.

The stock was done aggressively during the initial after-hour, only to recover swiftly.

It is 19 April, Wednesday, 9.30 am in Singapore and 9.30 pm in New York. We have yet another muted trading session, and we hope for a good trading day ahead, too, given a lack of major economic data.