US stocks edge lower as earnings fail to impress investors

• US stocks fell on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected earnings from Netflix weighed on tech.
• The video-streaming company said it expects the slowest quarter of subscriber growth in history.
• The company's slowing growth as the pandemic recedes could be emblematic of the tech sector going forward.
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US stocks declined on Wednesday as Netflix's weaker-than-expected earnings results weighed on the technology sector.

The streaming company fell 8% in Wednesday morning trades after forecasting the second quarter to be its slowest period of subscriber growth in history. The company saw a surge in business amid the COVID-19 pandemic as people spent more time at home, but now that trend is reversing as the pandemic begins to recede.

Investors are likely viewing Netflix's pandemic-pull-forward of demand and subsequent slow-down as emblematic of the tech sector as a whole, given that many of the tech companies that enabled a work-from-home environment will likely see slower growth as the physical economy begins to reopen.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,128.70, down 0.15%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 33,794.45, down 0.08% (26.85 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 13,737.14, down 0.36%

A decline in bitcoin's momentum over the past few days could be setting it up for a longer-term decline if it fails to reclaim the key $60,000 level, JPMorgan said in a note on Tuesday. Another potential downfall of bitcoin could be its heavy carbon footprint, an investment advisor told CNBC.

Facebook-backed digital currency Diem, originally called Libra, is planning to trial this year as the cryptocurrency boom continues, according to a CNBC report.

Shares of Juventus and Manchester United fell on Wednesday as the European Super League soccer plan imploded.

Oil prices were lower. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.4%, to $61.20 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped by 2%, to $65.25 per barrel.

Gold jumped 0.36%, to $1,784.90 per ounce.