Midday Fly By: CMS proposal sinks insurers, UnitedHealth reports mixed Q4

The major averages were mixed near noon as investors continue to digest the latest slate of corporate earnings and await the Federal Reserve’s first policy decision of the year on Wednesday. Markets are trading with a cautiously positive tone early in the week, supported by strong performance in big technology stocks.

The broader global backdrop is also helping sentiment. European markets are slightly higher after news of a free trade agreement between the European Union and India, and Asian shares have lifted on strength in technology and financial sectors. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said in a social media post yesterday that he plans to increase tariffs on South Korean autos, lumber, pharma, and other goods to 25% from 15%, with Trump alleging that South Korea’s legislature is “not living up to” is previous deal with the U.S.

Looking to commodities, gold was fractionally higher near noon, while oil prices were rising ahead of this afternoon’s API crude data.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Shares of health insurers, including CVS Health (CVS), Cigna (CI), and Molina (MOH), were slipping after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its 2027 Medicare Advantage rate plan calling for a 0.09% increase in net average year-over-year payments
• Meanwhile, UnitedHealth (UNH) reported mixed Q4 results and provided its outlook for FY26
• UPS (UPS) reported better-than-expected Q4 results but provided conservative FY26 revenue guidance
• General Motors (GM) reported upbeat Q4 earnings and revenue and increased its quarterly dividend
• Boeing (BA) reported better-than-expected Q4 results

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Wolfe upgraded Target (TGT) to Peer Perform ahead of investor day
• Affirm (AFRM) upgraded to Buy at Needham
• CoStar Group (CSGP) upgraded to Buy at BTIG on improving visibility
• Procter & Gamble (PG) downgraded to Hold at TD Cowen
• Stryker (SYK) downgraded to Hold at TD Cowen as a new analyst took over coverage

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Meta (META) plans to test new paid subscriptions that give people access to exclusive features on its apps and plans to scale Manus as part of those offerings, TechCrunch reports
• Julia Carreon, who was Citi (C) Wealth’s global head of platform and experiences before she left the bank in August 2024, is suing the bank over claims the human resources department forced her out after she was sexually harassed by one of the bank’s most senior executives, Andy Sieg, FT says
• Nike (NKE) is cutting 775 employees in a round of layoffs that are in addition to the 1,000 corporate job cuts it announced last summer, CNBC reports
• Spruce Point Capital said in a research note that after conducting a forensic financial review of Resideo Technologies (REZI), the firm is calling for an independent investigation into the accuracy of its financial reporting and accounting
• The chairman of the Senate’s antitrust subcommittee is voicing concerns over Netflix’s (NFLX) proposed acquisition of the Warner Bros. (WBD) movie-and-television studios and HBO Max streaming service, WSJ says

4. MOVERS:

• Redwire (RDW) higher after being awarded a contract for the Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense with a ceiling of $151B
• Richtech (RR) increases after announcing a hands-on collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT)
• Corning (GLW) gains after announcing an up to $6B agreement with Meta (META)
• Sanmina (SANM) falls after reporting Q1 results and providing guidance for Q2
• Pinterest (PINS) lower after announcing it will reduce its workforce by nearly 15%

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE

• Roper Technologies (ROP) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26
• Applied Industrial (AIT) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• JetBlue (JBLU) reported Q4 results, with EPS missing consensus
• Commvault (CVLT) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY26
• Sysco (SYY) reported Q2 results, with CEO Kevin Hourican commenting on the “strong results in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.68%, or 334.37, to 49,078.03, the Nasdaq was up 1.01%, or 239.03, to 23,840.39, and the S&P 500 was up 0.50%, or 34.64, to 6,984.87.