U.S. market indexes were lower on Wednesday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18481.48 for a loss of -65.82 points, or -0.35%. The S&P 500 was also lower, closing at 2175.44 for a loss of -11.46 points, or -0.52%. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5217.69 for a loss of -42.38 points, or -0.81%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher for the day at 13.77 for a gain of 1.39 points, or 11.23%.
Healthcare stocks led losses for the day as pharmaceutical drug pricing was scrutinized. All of the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s healthcare stocks were lower with UnitedHealth Group Inc. leading losses, down 1.51% for the day.
Healthcare losses in the DJIA on Wednesday:
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH, Financial) -1.51%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK, Financial) -1.34%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE, Financial) -0.77%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Financial) -0.61%
Economic reports affecting the market on Wednesday included the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Applications report, the FHFA House Price Index, Existing Home Sales and the EIA Petroleum Status report. The Mortgage Applications report showed mortgage applications down 2.1%. The FHFA House Price Index showed housing prices up 0.2% for the month and 5.6% for the year. Existing home sales were slightly lower for the month at 5.39 million SAAR, down from 5.570 million SAAR. The EIA Petroleum Status report showed oil inventories up 2.5 million barrels. Oil prices were lower for the day with WTI crude oil down 1.86%, at $46.78 a barrel and Brent crude oil down 1.86%, at $49.03 a barrel.
With Valeant (VRX, Financial) down 70% year to date following its legal actions regarding drug pricing strategies, a new pharmaceutical company came into the spotlight Wednesday. Mylan (MYL, Financial) was questioned by Congress about its pricing for the EpiPen earlier in the week. Senator inquiries have affected the stock’s price, which was down 5.41% on Wednesday. The inquiries increased the regulatory worries for the healthcare sector overall with S&P 500 healthcare stocks falling 1.54% on Wednesday.
In a CNBC report, market specialist Bill George provided his insight on Mylan and drug pricing.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks included in this article.
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