End of an era as Netflix faces stagnation challenges

The streaming giant caught Wall Street off guard for the second quarter in a row, reporting a drop in subscribers for the first time in a decade.

The company blamed the quarter-over-quarter erosion to suspension of its service in Russia due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The drop in shares was reminiscent of the prior quarter, when a weak subscriber outlook sent Netflix shares diving.

Netflix' plunge especially weighed on the Nasdaq, which was down 0.7 percent at 13,522.73.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 percent to 35,084.97, while the broad-based S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1 percent to 4,464.19.

Analysts said the bargain-hunting that drove Tuesday's rally was still on view on Wednesday, boosted by strong results from Dow members IBM and Procter & Gamble.

Shares of both companies were higher after IBM profits were boosted by good software and cloud computing sales, while P&G scored higher profits amid continued strong demand despite price increases.