US Stock Markets Today: S&P, Nasdaq Upbeat Amid Fed Cut Bets; Netflix Shares Swing To Green

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite opened in the green on Friday as investors pooled in hopes for another Federal Reserve rate cut this month.

Netflix Inc., the day's most-watched out stock, swung to highs as the trading progressed after opening in the red. In the early minutes of trade, the shares dropped more than 4% as the company lined up $59-billion debt for its acquisition of Warner Bros. While on the other hand, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s stock rose more than 3%.

The S&P 500 opened 0.29% higher at 6,876.67, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite opened 0.22% higher at 23,505.14, and Dow Jones Industrial Average opened little changed at 47,850.94.

As of 10:39 a.m. local time, S&P was up 0.49% at 6,889.07 , Nasdaq rose 0.61% to 23,643.50 and Dow Jones climbed 0.38% to 48,037.01.

Netflix shares pared losses to trade 0.21% higher at $103.45, while Warner Bros traded 3.14% higher at $25.33.

Under the deal announced on Friday, Netflix will be acquiring Warner Bros. at a total equity value of about $72 billion, while the enterprise value of the deal is approximately $82.7 billion. The acquisition is expected to close in 12 to 18 months.

Netflix's buy of the centenarian company, along with its iconic content gives the video-streaming giant powerful programming to sustain its lead over challengers like Walt Disney Co. and Paramount.

With the purchase, Netflix becomes owner of the HBO network, along with its wide library of hits like The Sopranos and The White Lotus. Warner Bros. assets also include its sprawling studios in Burbank, California, along with a vast film and TV archive that includes fan favourites like Harry Potter and Friends.

The Magnificent Seven stocks traded mixed, with bellwether company Nvidia Corp. down 0.21% to $182.80, Apple Inc. up 0.12% at $281.11, Google-parent Alphabet Inc. up 1.36% at $321.83, Tesla Inc. rising 0.37% to $455.89 and Meta Platforms up 1.70% at $673.01. Furthermore, the shares of Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. also traded higher.

After the US markets opened, spot gold prices were trading 0.92% higher at $4,248.08 an ounce. In the crude basket, US West Texas Intermediate traded 1.22% higher at $60.41 a barrel and Brent crude traded 1.31% higher at $60.44 a barrel.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%. While the euro was little changed at $1.1646, the British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3341, and Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 155.30 per dollar.

Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency, fell 1.5% to $90,807.32