Jan 28, 2026
3 min read
The opening of Wall Street.Dow Jones falls, UnitedHealth falls.The S&P 500 and Nasdaq outperform the Fed. Other leading stocks: General Motors, UPS, Boeing, American Airlines, Micron and others.
The Dow Jones index has fallen 0.61% to 49,112.53.Unitedhealth was the biggest dequanin, down 17.11% at the open, while Boeing fell a more modest 1.87%.On the backwards, Salesforce is up 2% and Apple is up 1.96%.
However, the other two major indexes are moving in the same direction: the S&P 500 rose 0.22% to 6,965.42 points, while the Nasdaq gained 0.63% to 23,7450.33 points.
Yesterday, Monday, Wall Street was coming off a bullish day, with the Dow Jones up 0.64%, the S&P 500 up 0.50% and the technology Nasdaq up 0.43%.
Much of the fall in the Dow Jones was attributed to UnitedHealth, which fell 12% after the Trump administration proposed practice-fixing costs for Medicare Advantage insurers.Specifically, the government's proposal would mean an average 0.09% increase in payments for Medicare Advantage plans through 2027, according to a statement released Monday by the Department of Medicare and Medicaid Services.The number was well below Wall Street analysts' expectationsThey expect 4% to 6% growth for next year
The closely monitored government payout rate determines how much insurers can pay in monthly premiums and plan benefits they offer, and ultimately their profits.
The interest rate announcement came in line with results UnitedHealth posted today, which beat expectations with earnings per share of $2.11, compared with estimates of $2.10.The insurance company will report full-year earnings per share of $17.75 for the year, compared to analysts’ average estimate of $17.74.
The penalty is generated across the entire Medicare-linked health care sector, with Humana shares down 19% and CVS Health down 9.66%.
Investors' attention is also focused on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting which begins today, although decisions will not be known until tomorrow afternoon.The market expects the central bank to keep its key interest rate in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, but traders will be looking for clues as to when a cut could happen.A sell-off in federal funds futures suggests a two percent deficit could be in place by the end of 2026, according to CME's FedWatch tool, though the likelihood of the former before June is slim.
Regarding the macroeconomic agenda, investors' attention will focus on the latest data on consumer confidence from the Conference Council.Meanwhile, according to the S&P/Case Shiller report, house prices increased by 1.4% annually in November.There is no change in monthly data.
Many heroes: GM, Boeing, UPS and more
In addition to punishing health insurers, the business world's focus is on earnings season as nearly 100 S&P 500 companies report their earnings this week.Among them are four of the so-called "Magnificent 7": Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla report their results on Wednesday, and Apple on Thursday.
Earnings season has been strong so far, with nearly three out of four S&P 500 companies beating expectations, according to FactSet.
Among the companies that published their accounts today, General Motors stood out, as it put on the table adjusted earnings of $2.51 per share, beating the $2.20 per share expected by analysts.However, revenue of Rs 45,290 crore fell short of the market-managed forecast of Rs 45,800 crore.
2026 earnings estimates beat its expectations and last year's results.They include net earnings attributable to shareholders of $10.3 billion and $11.7 billion;adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $13 billion to $15 billion;and earnings per share of $11 to $13.Shares of General Motors rose more than 5% in premarket trading.
United Parcel Service (UPS) is also rising on Wall Street.The package delivery company is forecasting higher annual revenue of $89.7 billion in 2026, up from $88.7 billion last year. It is also forecasting an adjusted operating margin of 9.6% by 2026.
"2026 will be a turning point in the execution of our strategy for sustainable growth and margin expansion," CEO Carol Tome said in a statement.Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, UPS reported fourth-quarter revenue of $24.5 billion, up from $25.3 billion a year earlier.
Boeing reported net income of $8.22 billion, or $10.23 per share, or $5.46 per share in the quarter ended December, or $5.46 for the air refueling program, shares fell 1.5%.
The US airline offered 16 cents a share, compared with expectations of 34 cents.Revenues reached $14 billion, compared with $14.03 billion.Shares opened higher by more than 3%.
Shares of US memory chip maker Micron Technology rose more than 4% in early New York trading after the company announced it would invest $24 billion to build a new NAND memory factory in Singapore.
In commodity markets, oil prices rose as investors focused on the resumption of production from Kazakhstan and the winter storm affecting production and refineries on the US Gulf Coast.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.24% to $61.38 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent rose 1.13% to $65.46.
Gold prices are still a stone's throw from yesterday's high of $5,100, and the spot rose 0.96 percent to $5,059.05 an ounce.
The euro rose 0.42% against the US dollar to $1.1928 per currency.
