US open: Stocks lower as UnitedHealth weighs on Dow

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red yet again early on Friday as insurer UnitedHealth weighed on the Dow Jones.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.84% at 43,806.06, while the S&P 500 lost 0.55% to 6,083.83 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.57% weaker at 19,848.02.

The Dow opened 370.59 points lower on Friday, extending heavy losses recorded in the previous session amid ongoing inflationary concerns and disappointing guidance from retail giant Walmart.

UnitedHealth shares headed south after The Wall Street Journal revealed that the health insurance giant was under investigation by the Justice Department for incentivising Doctors to find additional diagnoses for lucrative conditions, claiming that UnitedHealth-employed doctors were trained to "document revenue-generating diagnoses, including some they felt were obscure or irrelevant".

On the macro front, S&P Global's manufacturing PMI rose to 51.6 in February, according to preliminary estimates, up from 51.2 in January and ahead of expectations of 51.5 for the highest reading since June 2024. Factory output grew for a second straight month, while new order growth slowed.

Elsewhere, existing home sales fell by 4.9% to 4.08m in January, according to the National Association of Realtors, the sharpest decline since for seven months and falling short of expectations for a reading of 4.12m.

Finally, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was downwardly revised in February, dropping from 67.8 to 64.7 - the lowest reading since November 2023.

In the corporate space, Dropbox shares were in the red after the cloud storage giant published its Q4 earnings overnight, while shares in fintech firm Block also headed south after its latest batch of quarterly results.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $298.30 1.36%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.47 0.83%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $70.58 0.78%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $160.59 0.57%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $267.84 0.39%

Visa Inc. (V) $351.42 0.27%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $87.86 0.21%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $39.67 0.20%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $303.52 0.16%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $25.79 0.14%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $456.43 -9.15%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.38 -4.86%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $95.46 -1.81%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $313.82 -1.45%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $345.33 -1.10%

3M Co. (MMM) $147.49 -1.07%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $166.01 -0.72%

Boeing Co. (BA) $180.18 -0.39%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $263.71 -0.39%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $393.20 -0.36%

S&P 500 - Risers

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.99 6.29%

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.96 3.97%

Medtronic Plc (MDT) $90.71 3.15%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $71.93 2.49%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $110.49 2.48%

Danaher Corp. (DHR) $212.80 2.33%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $126.49 2.28%

Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $97.91 2.25%

PepsiCo Inc (PEP) $149.04 2.24%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $204.22 2.22%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $82.93 -17.26%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $456.43 -9.15%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $97.51 -6.89%

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $15.40 -6.13%

FedEx Corp. (FDX) $253.36 -5.62%

Humana Inc. (HUM) $256.56 -5.43%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.38 -4.86%

Copart Inc. (CPRT) $56.42 -4.73%

Accenture Plc (ACN) $368.12 -4.34%

Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $76.50 -3.91%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,260.18 9.00%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $94.50 3.19%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $103.60 3.03%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $71.93 2.49%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $110.49 2.48%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $204.22 2.22%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $70.24 2.05%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $30.34 1.69%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $62.72 1.67%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $52.06 1.66%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $97.51 -6.89%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.38 -4.86%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $164.54 -3.11%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $266.32 -2.96%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $75.98 -2.53%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $63.16 -2.49%

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.36 -2.45%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $85.75 -2.44%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $89.17 -2.40%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $196.70 -2.16%