NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stock indexes showed mixed performance early on Friday as businesses grappled with a significant global IT outage, while markets focused on mixed earnings reports and developments in the US presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.4% to 40,500.98 about 20 minutes after the start of trading. The broader S&P 500 index remained flat at 5,544.32, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped slightly by less than 0.1% to 17,865.30.
The IT disruptions stemmed from updates to antivirus programs on Microsoft’s Windows systems, affecting airlines, banks, television stations, and various other businesses worldwide.
Market volatility increased following speculation about US President Joe Biden possibly withdrawing from the 2024 race, as reflected by a rise in the VIX volatility index. Additionally, former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday night.
Netflix saw a 1.2% rise in its stock after reporting an addition of 8 million new subscribers in the second quarter, indicating the streaming giant’s successful efforts to boost revenue after a challenging 2022.
In other earnings reports, American Express experienced a 2.9% decline, whereas Schlumberger’s shares rose by 0.8%. CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm involved in the global outage, saw its shares plummet by 11.5% following a statement from CEO George Kurtz that a fix for the issue had been distributed.
