US open: Mixed start to trading as insurers slump on CMS rates

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting was all set to get underway. As of 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.96% at 48,938.74, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.28% to 6,969.51 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.70% firmer at 23,767.23.

The Dow opened 473.66 points lower on Tuesday, more than reversing gains recorded in the previous session.

Donald Trump's tariff war was in focus again at the open after he said late on Monday that tariffs on South Korean automobiles, pharmaceuticals and lumber would rise from 15% to 25%, citing delays in the country's legislature ratifying a trade agreement reached with the US last summer.

In the corporate space, multiple major US health insurers came under heavy pressure after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a net average payment increase of just 0.09% for Medicare Advantage plans in 2027. Humana slumped 19.86%, while CVS Health dropped 10.98%.

In terms of earnings, UnitedHealth posted a modest earnings beat on Tuesday, despite taking a $1.6bn restructuring hit, but issued some soft revenue guidance for the current year, while UPS topped quarterly expectations and issued upbeat revenue guidance for FY26 on the back of a shift to higher-value shipments, and General Motors reported Q4 adjusted earnings growth despite a 5% drop in revenues.

Elsewhere, Kimberly-Clark said Q4 adjusted earnings had come in ahead of expectations, Northrop Grumman reported increased quarterly profits on the back of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, and Union Pacific missed Q4 estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

American Airlines reported a Q4 earnings miss that was a direct result of the Federal Government shutdown, but issued some upbeat revenue guidance despite taking a $200m hit from a historic winter storm, while Boeing booked $23.9bn in Q4 revenues as sales jumped 57% year-on-year.

On the macro front, pivate sector employment increased by 41,000 in December, according to ADP's employment change figures, following a revised 29,000 loss in November and slightly below forecasts of a 47,000.

On another note, US home prices were little changed in November, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case‑Shiller National Home Price Inde, xwith elevated mortgage rates continuing to weigh on demand. Home prices edged down 0.1% on the month, matching October's decline, but were 1.4% higher year‑on‑year. The 10‑city composite rose 0.1% in November, while the 20‑city index was unchanged.

Still on data, US consumer confidence slumped in January, according to the Conference Board, dropping to its weakest level since 2014 and falling below the lows seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell 9.7 points to 84.5, down from a revised 94.2 in December, while the prior month's reading was revised up by 5.1 points, turning what had initially appeared to be a decline into a modest gain. However, January's preliminary figures showed sentiment deteriorating again after December's brief uptick.

Finally, the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index increased to -6 points in January from -7 points in December. Shipments increased to −5 from −11 and new orders increased slightly to −6 from −8, while employment decreased to −6 from −1.



Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $261.63 2.44% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $477.36 1.51% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $643.49 1.19% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $77.86 1.10% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $223.33 0.83% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $230.48 0.47% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $72.90 0.47% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $168.05 0.33% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $350.63 0.27% 3M Co. (MMM) $159.76 0.15%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $283.86 -19.28% Boeing Co. (BA) $243.20 -2.11% Nike Inc. (NKE) $63.97 -1.58% American Express Co. (AXP) $358.94 -1.19% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $384.19 -0.61% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.41 -0.53% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $929.18 -0.29% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $149.09 -0.27% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.21 -0.09% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $28.16 -0.09%

S&P 500 - Risers

Corning Inc. (GLW) $105.23 10.83% Sysco Corp. (SYY) $79.99 5.76% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $234.79 5.35% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $253.41 5.22% Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $103.50 4.90% Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $52.00 4.40% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $332.71 4.15% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $8.95 3.71% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,586.82 2.84% Amphenol Corp. (APH) $159.82 2.74%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Humana Inc. (HUM) $210.29 -20.23% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $283.86 -19.28% Elevance Health Inc. (ELV) $336.29 -10.78% CVS Health Corp (CVS) $75.36 -10.15% Centene Corp. (CNC) $41.72 -9.85% Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $27.32 -4.58% Synchrony Financial (SYF) $73.96 -4.57% Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $176.12 -3.46% Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $65.24 -2.26% Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $27.73 -2.12%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $234.79 5.35% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $253.41 5.22% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $332.71 4.15% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,586.82 2.84% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,449.22 2.54% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $261.63 2.44% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $159.65 2.29% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $76.01 1.64% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $477.36 1.51% CSX Corp. (CSX) $38.01 1.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $189.80 -2.06% PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $119.91 -1.80% American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.32 -1.74% Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $25.22 -1.60% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $188.19 -1.39% T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $185.38 -1.37% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $84.60 -1.29% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $20.21 -1.27% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $182.43 -1.24% Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $104.90 -1.21%