In an aerial view, the Netflix logo is displayed above its corporate offices on January 24, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
- Stock futures fell after Israel carried out a limited strike on Iran.
- Netflix announced a big change to its earnings.
- Mortgage rates are at their highest point so far this year.
Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. On edge
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Stock futures fell early Friday after Israel carried out a limited strike on Iran. Israel has not commented on the latest escalation in a series of back-and-forth strikes. Oil prices also fluctuated, spiking 3% in Asia morning trading and then turning lower. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%. All three indexes are heading for a losing week. Follow live market updates.
2. New Netflix focus
Netflix is making a big change to its earnings routine. The company announced Thursday that it would no longer provide quarterly membership numbers or average revenue per user starting next year, saying it's focused on revenue and operating margin. That came the same day it reported that memberships rose 16% in the first quarter, to 269.6 million, well above the 264.2 million Wall Street had expected. Netflix also beat earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter. Shares of the company fell about 6% in premarket trading Friday.
3. Big price tags
Mortgage rates are at their highest level of the year, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate now sitting around 7.5% according to Mortgage News Daily. Though mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 5% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index, affordability is weakening. Meanwhile, despite a surge in supply, March home sales dropped, largely due to rising mortgage rates. The spring housing market is moving faster and becoming more competitive, with an average home sitting on the market for just 33 days, compared with 38 days in February.
4. Ticking clock
TikTok more than doubled its spending on advertisements to over $4.5 million to combat a potential U.S. ban. The increase comes as Congress considers legislation that could push parent company ByteDance to divest from the social media app. TikTok has spent over $2.5 million on television ads alone since March, according to data from AdImpact. With the bill appearing to have key support in the Senate, TikTok's boosted ad spending could be a last-ditch effort to shut down the discourse, as U.S. lawmakers say they're concerned about whether ByteDance could protect U.S. users' personal data from the Chinese government.
5. A new assistant
Meta started rolling out its free artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, across WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger on Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video. The social media company also announced the launch of its newest large language model, called Meta Llama 3, which was used to build the AI assistant. Meta AI can answer questions, create animations and generate images, and it's partnered with Google and Microsoft to provide answers from both companies' search engines. "We believe that Meta AI is now the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use," Zuckerberg said in the video.
And one more thing...
Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album, "The Tortured Poets Department," Friday at midnight ET. She then surprised fans at 2 a.m. ET with news of 15 extra songs. The album features collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.
Money Report
— CNBC's Yun Li, Natasha Turak, Sarah Whitten, Diana Olick, Brian Schwartz, Ashley Capoot and NBC News contributed to this report.
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