US STOCKS-Wall Street slide deepens after Netflix disappointment

Netflix's share decline “seems to be a big overshadow of the markets today but we have also seen weakness in tech in general since the start of this year," said Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist at Commonwealth Financial Network. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 143.07 points, or 0.41%, to 34,572.32, the S&P 500 lost 36.52 points, or 0.81%, to 4,446.21 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 175.38 points, or 1.24%, to 13,978.65.

Wall Street's main indexes dropped on Friday as Netflix shares plunged after a weak earnings report that also weighed on rivals, putting stocks on course to close out a gloomy week on a sour note. The benchmark S&P 500 was set for its third straight week of declines, while losses deepened for the Nasdaq after the tech-heavy index earlier in the week confirmed it was in a correction, closing down over 10% from its November peak.

Netflix shares tumbled 21%, weighing on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the streaming giant forecast weak subscriber growth. Shares of competitor Walt Disney fell 5.8%, dragging on the Dow, while Roku slid 6.5%. Netflix's share decline "seems to be a big overshadow of the markets today but we have also seen weakness in tech in general since the start of this year," said Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist at Commonwealth Financial Network.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 143.07 points, or 0.41%, to 34,572.32, the S&P 500 lost 36.52 points, or 0.81%, to 4,446.21 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 175.38 points, or 1.24%, to 13,978.65. Communication services was the biggest declining of the 11 S&P 500 sectors, dropping 2.4%. Defensive sectors real estate, consumer staples and utilities were the lone sectors in positive territory, rising modestly.

Stocks have gotten off to a rocky start in 2022, as a fast rise in Treasury yields amid concerns the Federal Reserve will become aggressive in controlling inflation has particularly hit the tech and growth shares. The benchmark S&P 500 is down nearly 7% so far this year. Investors are keenly focused on next week's Fed meeting for more clarity on the central bank's plans to tighten monetary policy in the coming months after data last week showed U.S. consumer prices in December had the largest annual rise in nearly four decades.

"Between the Fed meeting and earnings, there is a lot that the market could be worried about next week," Gaggar said. Apple, Tesla and Microsoft are among the large companies due to report next week in a busy week of earnings results.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.50-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.65-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs and 22 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 10 new highs and 954 new lows.