It was another mixed but broadly positive day for US stock markets with gains in healthcare and technology offsetting losses in the financial and travel sectors.
The Dow Jones added another 0.6%, the S&P 500 delivered 0.9%, a fourth straight day of gains and the Nasdaq slightly weaker, up 0.5%.
Private jobs reduced by more than 300,000 in January as Omicron hit in a sign the economy may not be as strong as it looks.
PayPal tanks by more than 20%
All eyes were on PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) after the company abandoned its target of 750 million users by 2025.
The PayPal share price fell by more than 24% after reporting a near 50% fall in profit and flat revenue growth.
The group is losing its monopoly over eBay payments and revenue growth is now expected to be anywhere between 6% and 14%.
Alphabet surges
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) reported a third straight quarter of record sales, benefitting from a surge in advertising over the Christmas period, with revenue jumping 32% to US$61.9 billion.
Profit jumped 36% and cloud revenue continues to grow at a torrid 45% pace, albeit below Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).
Markets cheered the decision to split the stock to make the share price more palatable, with a 20-for-1 stock split coming up mid-year. Alphabet shares gained 7%.
Back home on the ASX, the S&P/ASX (ASX: XJO) is expected to open broadly flat this morning. For a round-up of the latest results, check out my ASX 200 morning report.
