The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants

By Staff Reporters

***

***

Statistic 187,000: That’s how many first time unemployment claims were filed last week, a surprise decline and the lowest since September 2022. The resilient labor market is continuing to chug along as companies continue to hold on to the workers they have.

***

Managed-care companies are reporting that seniors on Medicare Advantage Part C plans used far more medical services than expected in the final months of 2023. The announcements have sparked two separate selloffs over the past week: The first came January 12th, when UnitedHealth Group announced its fourth-quarter earnings. The second came Thursday, after Humana laid out preliminary fourth-quarter results, and said the high utilization trends would have a material impact on its 2024 performance “if current trends continue.”

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/082610254

In response, three largest sponsors of Medicare Advantage plans, UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, and Humana, have seen their shares fall 3.2%, 7.5%, and 14.3% so far this year, respectively, as of midday Thursday. The S&P 500 is down 0.6% over the same period, while Cigna Group—which is reportedly near a deal to sell its relatively small Medicare Advantage business—is up 1%.

***

Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:

• The S&P 500 index rose 41.73 points (0.9%) to 4,780.94; the Dow Jones Industrial Average^® (DJI) gained 201.94 points (0.5%) to 37,468.61; the NASDAQ Composite increased 200.03 points (1.4%) to 15,055.65.
• The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) rose nearly 4 basis points to 4.142%.
• The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) fell 0.66 to 14.13.

Gains in Taiwan Semiconductor and its industry counterparts sent the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) up 3.4% to a three-week high. In a further illustration of tech sector strength, the Nasdaq-100^® (NXD), which includes the NASDAQ’s largest non-financial companies, rose 1.5% to a record closing high. Banking and utility shares were among the market’s weakest performers.

***

***

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Thank You

***

***

Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", Alerts Sign-Up, Experts Invited, Funding Basics, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Health Law & Policy, iMBA, Inc., Investing | Tagged: CBOE, Cigna, CVs, DJIA, DOW, Humana, medicare, Medicare Advantage, NSDAQ, NXD, Part C, Russell 2000, S&P 500, Schwab, SOX, TNX, UHC, unemployment claiims, United Health Care, VIX | Leave a comment »