Dow gains after bank earnings as stocks finish winning week: Stock market news today

Stocks finished mixed on Friday but ended the week up as upbeat results from JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) lifted those big banks’ stocks and new survey data showed Americans are becoming increasingly confident in the economy.

Banks helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which added about 0.3% as quarterly earnings from Wall Street names started rolling in. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC) both finished slightly below the flatline. All of the major averages finished

Investors were weighing quarterly updates from the financial sector, with the focus on any signs of impact from this spring’s bank failures and the subsequent draining of deposits across the system.

JPMorgan and Wells Fargo shares were on the rise after they both reported a surge in profits in the second quarter. Meanwhile, BlackRock (BLK) stock slipped after its revenue fell year over year.

All the major benchmarks look on track for weekly wins after signs that inflation is cooling and that the labor market is robust have lifted hopes that a strong economy can give stocks momentum to run higher after a stellar start to the year.

 

Hollywood double strike is yet another headwind for media companies

The actors strike is the latest challenge to hit media companies grappling with a consumer shift to streaming services.

As Yahoo Finance’s Alexandra Canal reports, Hollywood’s double strike will likely pressure major media companies as the production pipeline grinds to a complete halt. SAG-AFTRA — the union that represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists, and other media professionals around the world — joined writers on the picket lines early Friday after the guild failed to negotiate a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which bargains on behalf of studios including Disney (DIS), Netflix (NLFX), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and NBCUniversal (CMCSA).

“We’ve been hearing that most streaming companies won’t feel the pain from strikes until 2024 given the pipeline of content that has already been locked in,” said Third Bridge analyst Jamie Lumley.

“However, streamers could be in trouble as soon as the velocity of content slows,” he warned. “Our experts emphasize that content is still king and if streamers want subscribers to keep coming back, they need to have a steady feed of new movies and shows being released on their platforms.”

Read more here.

 

Disney CEO Bob Iger suggests selling TV assets — but who will buy?

Disney CEO Bob Iger (DIS) said Thursday he would take an “expansive” look at the entertainment giant’s traditional TV assets, signaling the potential for strategic options that could include a sale.

The problem? Analysts have questioned who a potential buyer would be given the secular declines in linear television networks amid escalating cord-cutting trends.

“Every media company is facing cord-cutting, shifts of television advertising to connected TVs and other platforms,” Rich Greenfield, media and technology analyst at LightShed Partners, told Yahoo Finance Live. “The linear TV business is just under a lot of pressure, and investors are already asking me, ‘Well, who are they selling it to?’ ‘Who wants to buy a linear TV business?’”

Iger, who made the comments in a lengthy interview with CNBC on Thursday morning, a day after the company announced it will be extending his contract through 2026, admitted the current distribution model is “definitely broken.”

He explained Disney’s linear TV assets, which include broadcast network ABC and cable channels FX, Freeform, and National Geographic, “may not be core” to its strategy any longer.

“That’s what’s really challenging,” Greenfield noted. “It’s one thing to say you want to get rid of ABC or get rid of FX. But who exactly is the buyer of those businesses? I don’t have a great answer for that.”

Other industry watchers said a possible asset sale is likely necessary to protect the business’ future — but only with the right buyer.

“We agree that asset sales are a good idea, but our best advice would be to sell all (or all the content assets) of DIS to AAPL, AMZN, or another company that never needs to make money from creating content,” Needham analyst Laura Martin wrote in a note to clients on Friday morning. “If they don’t sell, DIS will be competing against those companies in an industry with deteriorating economics (because they never need to make money from content), we believe.”

Disney shares are down about 2% on the year and have fallen nearly 5% compared to this point last year.

Read more here.