Netflix and Intel were set to improve the tech stock market today, after a revenue warning by Apple triggered a slump in the stock yesterday and marked the tech giant’s worst day in six years. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of about 280 points at the opening of the market on Friday, led by Netflix and Intel. The rise in Netflix was triggered after Goldman Sachs added the streaming service to its conviction buy list.
Analysts Heath Terry called Netflix “one of the best risk/reward propositions in the Internet sector”.
Intel rose after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded it to buy from neutral.
The bank raised its 12-month price target for Intel to $60 a share from $52, equivalent to a 35 percent gain from its Thursday close.
The increase in Netflix and Intel stock in turn had a positive impact on other tech-related stocks.
Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google-parent Alphabet all rose more than 1 percent.
This follows on from a 5.07 percent slump on Thursday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had its worst daily performance since August 18, 2011 when it fell 5.35 percent.
The sharp move lower was triggered by a bad quarterly warning from Apple.
The tech-giant cut its revenue forecast for the first time in nearly 12 years and blamed weaker iPhone sales in China.
Apple’s US-listed shares closed down 10 percent.
The announcement by Apple comes as China and US try to strike a deal on trade.
The heightened concerns that sluggish global growth may be reflected in the United States, where corporate earnings season is set to kick off in a few weeks.
Some market watchers fretted that US corporate earnings may recede this year, leading to a further downturn in equities.
Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist, said: “With the friction in the global economy, the market has to discount the multiples we’d previously been paying.
“Investors want to pay lower prices with the increased level of risk out there.”
Apple’s new also unsettled the currency markets, with the safe-haven yen climbing against the dollar.
The dollar was last 1.19 percent lower against the yen at 107.57 yen.