Stocks end higher after a day of steady gains

Stocks ended broadly higher on Wall Street after steadily gaining throughout Wednesday.

The S&P 500 index added 0.9% following its first backto-back loss since March. Technology companies and banks helped lead the way higher. Communications stocks were among the only losers, led by a 7.4% drop in Netflix after the video streaming pioneer disappointed investors with a slowdown in subscriber additions.

Small-company stocks far outpaced the broader market after slumping a day earlier. The Russell 2000 was up 2.1%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 1.56%.

Netflix slumped 7% for the biggest decline in the S&P 500. The video streaming pioneer disappointed investors with its latest report on subscriber additions, which came in below its own forecasts. The gangbuster growth Netflix had seen during the pandemic appeared to be slowing as people start leaving their homes more and as competition from rival services picks up.

Much of the market’s focus over the next two weeks will be on individual companies and how well their quarterly results turn out. This week roughly 80 members of the S&P 500 are due to report results, as well as one out of every three members of the Dow. On average, analysts expect quarterly profits across the S&P 500 to climb 24% from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

“Those companies that meet or beat on revenue and paint a nice picture for the rest of the year are being rewarded,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade. “When a railroad company is saying we really see improvement for the second half of the year, that’s a really good sign.”