U.S. stocks were in the red on Wednesday on the back of economic data that showed retail sales and manufacturing output declined in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.70% to 23,533, the S&P 500 Index dipped 2.01% to 2,788 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.03% to 8,428.
Non-index stocks have also posted gains and losses recently. Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH, Financial) jumped almost 4% on Wednesday after the company announced first-quarter results. It posted earnings of $3.72 per share, beating estimates by 5 cents. Revenue of $64.42 billion registered 6.8% year-over-year growth and beat analysts' expectations by $170 million.
In the first quarter of 2020, earnings from operations inched up 3.4% year over year to $5 billion, while adjusted net earnings per share were in line with the prior-year quarter.
Further, the cash flows from operations reached $2.9 billion, with cash available of $10.9 billion, a sign of strong liquidity.
The medical care ratio was 81%, 100 basis points lower than last year, impacted by the health insurance tax. The operating cost ratio was 15.5%, up from 14.1% a year ago, while the return on equity was 23.6%
Looking ahead the 2020, the company maintained its full-year earnings per share outlook, with net earnings between $15.45 and $15.75 per share and adjusted net earnings in the range of $16.25 to $16.55 per share.
During the quarter ended Dec. 31,tThe Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio) trimmed its stake by 2.3% to 9,564,836 shares, while Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)' Renaissance Technologies sold out of the stock.Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) boosted his holding by 15.5% to 8,096 shares.
Gainers
- Centene Corp. (CNC, Financial) +4.5%
- Abbott Laboratories (ABT, Financial) +2.2%
- Becton Dickinson and Co. (BDX, Financial) +1.5%
- Anthem Inc. (ANTM, Financial)​ +0.6%
- Humana Inc. (HUM, Financial) +1.2%
- General Mills Inc. (GIS, Financial) +0.4%
Losers
- Helmerich and Payne Inc. (HP, Financial) -11.5%
- L Brands Inc. (LB, Financial) -11%
- PVH Corp. (PVH, Financial) -10.8%
- Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY, Financial) -10%
- Nordstrom Inc. (JWN, Financial) -8.9%
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded in the red.The U.K.'s FTSE 100 tumbled 3.34%, France's CAC 40 sank 3.76%, Germany's Dax swelled 3.90% and Spain's Ibex 35 retreated 3.79%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.45%, India’s BSE Sensex dipped 1.01%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.19% and China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.57%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
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