Nasdaq closes at new record high; Netflix surges

NEW YORK–The Nasdaq vaulted to a new record high Thursday after a strong earnings report from Netflix helped spark a fairly broad rally led by technology stocks.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index powered up 64.24 points (1.26 percent) to 5,163.18, about three points above its prior record set on June 23.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.08 (0.39 percent) to 18,120.25, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 16.89 (0.80 percent) at 2,124.29.

Netflix surged 18 percent following an earnings report that was light on profits but heavy on growth. The video streaming service said subscriptions jumped 3.3 million in the second quarter, with the bulk of the increase outside the US. Earnings were $26 million, down from $71 million a year ago.

“It’s a big believers’ story, the way Amazon is,” said Mace Blicksilver. “On growth metrics, you must own it.”

Blicksilver said the market was further lifted by a confluence of benign events: The passage of an austerity package by the Greek parliament that opens the way to a potential bailout; congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that was seen as dovish on interest rates; and the steadying of the Chinese stock market.

“It’s hard to see what’s to be bearish about at this very moment,” he said.

Leading technology companies moved higher, including Apple (+1.3 percent), Facebook (+1.2 percent) and Google (+3.5 percent).

Another giant tech company, online retailer Amazon, bolted 3.1 percent higher after announcing that customers bought 34.4 million items on Wednesday when it offered special promotions to buyers of its “Prime” service, a $99 per-year package delivery program.

EBay surged 3.4 percent as it beat expectations on sales and earnings and confirmed the split off on Friday of subsidiary PayPal.

Citigroup jumped 3.8 percent after reporting second-quarter earnings of $1.51 per share, much above the $1.34 projected by Wall Street analysts.

Dow member Goldman Sachs fell 0.8 percent as its reported lower second-quarter earnings, dragged down by $1.45 billion in legal charges.

Other companies to report earnings included chipmaker Intel (+0.7 percent), tobacco giant Philip Morris International (+3.2 percent), paint company Sherwin-Williams (-7.4 percent) and healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group (-0.7 percent).

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dipped to 2.35 percent from 2.36 percent on Wednesday, while the 30-year fell to 3.11 percent from 3.15 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.