The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose mildly, gaining 0.3% in the stock market today and briefly breaching the 29,000 level. The blue chip index also hit a new all-time high ahead of the signing of a U.S.-China phase-one trade deal.
XStrong earnings in Dow Jones stock UnitedHealth Group (UNH) helped boost the index as the stock jumped 2%. Seven other blue chip stocks including Coca-Cola (KO), McDonalds (MCD) and Visa (V) all added roughly 1% or more.
Meanwhile, Dow Jones component Goldman Sachs (GS) fell as much as 2.7% after mixed fourth-quarter earnings results, before paring losses and closing off less than 0.2%. Bank of America (BAC) also sold off as much as 2% intraday, despite strong earnings, before shaving that decline to 1.6%.
The Nasdaq composite traded higher in morning trade before selling off. The tech-heavy index rose less than 0.1% after being up as much as 0.5%.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.2%. All three major indexes hit fresh all-time highs Wednesday, as the current uptrend continues. Volume fell a touch on both the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange, according to early data.
Among exchange traded funds, Innovator IBD 50 (FFTY) ETF gained Wednesday morning before selling off in the afternoon. The ETF of top growth stocks closed at roughly breakeven while remaining above its 35.52 buy point after breaking out last week.
Dow Jones Stock UnitedHealth Pops on Earnings
As the nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group reported strong Q4 earnings Wednesday morning in premarket, easily beating EPS views. Revenue however slightly missed analysts' consensus estimate of a 4.4% bump up to $60.98 billion. The company reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.90 a share, up 19% vs. a year earlier, on revenue of $60.2 billion.
UnitedHealth stock still rallied.
Shares of UnitedHealth moved up 2.8% on Wednesday as volume surged 70% above its 50-day average. UnitedHealth stock is currently extended past a 268.79 proper buy point off a cup-type base, and is rebounding from a test of its 10-week moving average. See more chart analysis on UnitedHealth at IBD Leaderboard.
Health insurance stocks including UnitedHealth, Anthem (ANTM) and Cigna (CI) all sold off Monday due to further discussion of "Medicare for All," as Bernie Sanders' odds of winning the Democratic nomination pulled close to even with Joe Biden in several betting markets. But these shares all rebounded sharply on Wednesday.
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Target Stock Dives On Weak Comp Sales
Target stock fell sharply Wednesday morning after the company reported weak holiday sales. Same-store sales grew only 1.4% during November and December, vs. last year's 5.7% growth. The company reiterated its Q4 earnings outlook, but the retail stock fell through its 50-day support level.
A continued drop below the 50-day moving average, in big volume, would trigger a defensive sell signal.
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