The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
The benchmark index gained 0.41% to close at 6,978.60, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.91% to 23,817.10, its highest level since late October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, fell 0.83%, weighed down by heavy losses among health insurers.
Healthcare stocks plunge
Healthcare stocks led declines after UnitedHealth Group shares tumbled 19.6%, dragging the Dow lower, after the Trump administration proposed changes to Medicare insurer payment rates. The move compounded concerns following UnitedHealth’s disappointing revenue outlook for 2026.
Other insurers followed suit, with Humana plunging 21% and CVS Health sliding 14.2%.
“There’s a bifurcated market today, with the Dow down because of announcements around Medicare premiums,” said Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic Wealth. “The rest of the market is holding up as investors wait for a big week of earnings.”
Tech and autos provide support
Technology stocks extended gains ahead of high-profile earnings reports later this week, with heavyweights Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Apple and Broadcom providing the biggest boosts to the broader market.
The technology sector rose 1.4%, leading gains among the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors.
Corning was the top gainer in the S&P 500, surging 15.6% after the company announced a deal with Meta Platforms worth up to $6 billion to supply fibre-optic cables for AI data centres.
In the automotive sector, General Motors shares jumped 8.7% after reporting stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter core profit.
Economic data and currency moves
U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January to its lowest level since 2014, but the data had little impact on markets, analysts said.
Investors were also encouraged by a sharp decline in the U.S. dollar, which fell more than 1% on the day. A weaker dollar tends to support U.S. equities by boosting export competitiveness.
“This currency move is really positive for S&P earnings going forward,” said Adam Rich, deputy chief investment officer at Vaughan Nelson Investment Management.
Mixed earnings elsewhere
Trading in Boeing was volatile after the company swung to a quarterly profit due to a unit sale but reported larger-than-expected losses in its core divisions. Shares ended down 1.6%.
In airlines, American Airlines dropped 7% after warning that recent winter storms would weigh on first-quarter results, despite issuing a stronger-than-expected 2026 forecast. JetBlue shares slid 6.9% after posting a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.
Logistics firm United Parcel Service projected higher revenue for 2026, but shares finished up just 0.2%, while rival FedEx rose 2.6%.
Focus turns to megacap earnings and the Fed
All eyes now turn to earnings from Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla on Wednesday, which will kick off results from the so-called “Magnificent Seven” group and test the resilience of the AI-driven rally.
In total, 102 S&P 500 companies are due to report earnings this week. Of the 64 that had reported so far, 79.7% have beaten analyst expectations, according to LSEG data.
Investors are also awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday. While rates are widely expected to remain unchanged, markets will closely watch guidance on future policy and the outlook for the U.S. economy.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has moved swiftly to consolidate his authority following the dismissal of his long-time ally Kamchybek Tashiev, head of...
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (16 February), state-linked media reported. The drill too...
A man accused of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Monday (16 February)...
The 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC) unfolded over three intense days in Munich, confronting a defining question of our era: has the post-Second ...
ByteDance will take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property on its artificial intelligence (AI) video generator Seedance 2.0, t...
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (16 February), state-linked media reported. The drill took place a day before renewed nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Geneva.
The 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC) unfolded over three intense days in Munich, confronting a defining question of our era: has the post-Second World War international order collapsed - and if so, what will replace it?
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Geneva on Monday ahead of a second round of indirect nuclear talks with the United States, according to Iranian state media.
Azerbaijan and Serbia have formally launched a Strategic Partnership Council, marking a new phase in bilateral relations and placing cooperation under direct presidential oversight.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said China has the power to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, arguing that Beijing is enabling Moscow’s military campaign.
Austria’s Janine Flock won the gold medal in the women’s skeleton event at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Saturday.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said the United States could evaluate its own interests separately from those of Israel in ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday (15 February) called it “troubling” a report by five European allies blaming Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using a toxin from poison dart frogs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia’s decision to change the leadership of its delegation for upcoming peace talks in Geneva appeared to be an attempt to delay progress.
Millions of Colombian roses have arrived in the United States just in time for Valentine’s Day, keeping the country on track as the world’s second-largest flower exporter. Between 15 January and 9 February, Colombia shipped roughly 65,000 tons of fresh-cut blooms.
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a journalistic investigation has found.
Türkiye’s national energy company, TPAO, has struck a new cooperation deal with U.S. energy giant Chevron, signing a memorandum of understanding to explore joint oil and gas exploration and production opportunities, the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry announced on Thursday.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about artificial intelligence (AI) creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment