By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- U.S. stock markets opened mixed on Friday, with the S&P edging to a new all-time high, but with some big-name technology stocks lagging after flashing warning signs in their quarterly updates.
By 9:40 AM ET (1340 GMT), the S&P 500 was up 4 points, or 0.1%, at 4,554 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 118 points, or 0.3%. By contrast, the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.2%, as poor results from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Snap (NYSE:SNAP) weighed on a technology sector whose valuation doesn't allow for disappointments.
Snap stock fell 21% after revealing a big hit to revenue from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s new privacy settings, which have deterred advertisers from paying big money to place ads, given that they can no longer be precisely targeted. The parent company of Snapchat had warned three months ago that such a hit was likely, but the stock had still held up, supported not least by the belief that social media companies were immune to pressures from supply chain disruptions in manufacturing and retail.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock meanwhile fell 10.8% after falling short of consensus forecasts in the third quarter, with further evidence of loss of market share in the key datacenter segment. Intel noted that the problems of other chip makers were affecting the ability of manufacturers to ship finish products, in turn depressing their demand for Intel's chips.
Both companies were put completely in the shade by Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DWAC), which was suspended limit up after nearly tripling at the open. It had already more than quadrupled on Thursday after the Special Purpose Acquisition Company was announced as the vehicle through which Donald Trump's new social media company will go public. The circuit-breakers kicked in at $131.90, a rise of 190% on Thursday's close. When trading resumed, the shares were immediately suspended again at $175.
Another stock sucked up in anticipation of the launch of Trump's TRUTH Social platform was Austin-based software company Phunware (NASDAQ:PHUN), which had collaborated with the Trump/Pence campaign in building its app for the 2020 election. Speculation was rife that Trump will pick the Phunware to build the platform's app. Phunware stock trading was halted up over 1000% at $18.35, giving the 58-person company a market value of $1.4 billion.
The business model of TRUTH Social is far from clear, beyond its stated aim of disrupting what its founder sees as a liberal-dominated social media space. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) banned Trump from their networks not least because of boycott pressure against their advertisers, something sure to be repeated if they place ads on TRUTH Social. Facebook and Twitter stock had shown little reaction to the news of TRUTH Social's creation initially, falling much more sharply on the back of Snap's news about the effects of Apple's privacy regime. Facebook stock was down 5.3%, while Twitter stock was down 3.1%.