Wall Street today: S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq fall; UnitedHealth tanks 9% | Stock Market News
Source: Live Mint
US stock indices declined on Friday as UnitedHealth Group shares tumbled on a report of a government probe into the health giant’s billing practices.
As of 10:20 am Eastern time, the S&P 500 edged down 0.4 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3 per cent.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 356.5 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 43820.13. The S&P 500 fell 3.4 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 6114.1, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 44.3 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20006.693.
A preliminary report from S&P Global said activity for US services businesses unexpectedly shrank, and many businesses in the survey reported optimism slumping because of worries about Washington.
A separate report said US consumers are also preparing for higher inflation because of potential tariffs.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.45% from 4.51% late on Thursday. The 2-year Treasury yield fell to 4.23% from 4.27%.
Gainers and losers
UnitedHealth stock dropped more than 9 per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice is investigating allegations the company directed doctors to make patient diagnoses that would trigger higher government payments under the US Medicare Advantage program.
Coinbase stock gained 2.8 per cent after the crypto exchange said the Securities and Exchange Commission had agreed to drop a lawsuit against it launched during the Biden administration.
Booking Holdings shares climbed 4.2 per cent after the company delivered a better profit for the final three months of 2024 than expected.
Akamai Technologies stock fell 15.4 per cent even though the cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported stronger profit than expected.
Block shares slid 15.5 per cent after the payment firm’s fourth quarter profit fell short of estimates.
Crude oil
Oil prices fell on Friday as uncertainty looms over a potential peace deal in Ukraine.
Brent futures slipped by 90 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $75.58 a barrel by 1423 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude lost 96 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $71.52.
Bullion
Gold prices eased on Friday as investors booked profits from the previous session’s record high.
Spot gold shed 0.3 per cent to $2,930.85 an ounce as of 10:07 am ET (1507 GMT). US gold futures fell 0.4 per cent to $2,945.20.
Spot silver was down 0.6 per cent at $32.74 an ounce.
