U.S. Stock Markets Open Mixed Amid Earnings Reports; Gold Prices Decline Further

Major U.S. stock indexes opened mixed on Wednesday amid ongoing earnings reports. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2%, the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%. This follows Tuesday's session where the Dow gained 0.6%, the Nasdaq declined 0.2%, and the S&P 500 remained nearly flat.

Gold futures continued their decline, falling 0.7% to $4,080 after a nearly 5.5% drop on Tuesday—their steepest in 12 years. The precious metal had reached a record high of $4,393 early Tuesday before retreating.

The 10-year Treasury yield decreased to 3.96%, influencing borrowing costs for products like mortgages. Bitcoin traded around $108,300, down from nearly $112,000 earlier in the day. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures advanced 1.2% to $58.50 per barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, ticked higher to 99.08.

In corporate news, Netflix shares fell 8.5% after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly profit. DraftKings stock rose 1.5% following the announcement of its acquisition of Railbird to enter "prediction markets." Shares of Six Flags Entertainment increased by 1% after an 18% surge on Tuesday, driven by news that NFL star Travis Kelce is collaborating with activist investor Jana Partners to advocate for changes at the amusement park operator.