The United States stock market opened today to a cautious post-Easter floor as healthcare systems see the brunt of trepidation.
The U.S. stock market has seen a boom in the first quarter of 2024, which had investors looking forward to the rest of the year, but the sluggish start to April has those purse strings guarded, especially for the healthcare sector.
Healthcare stocks slide
After the shock announcement that private Medicare payments would not be boosted to expected rates, the healthcare scene in the stock market has shown a sharp decline.
Walk-In pharmacy CVS had its shares slide by 6%, as did United Healthcare. Cetene fell 5% and Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV) saw the smallest slip by 2%. One of the main losers from the announcement was Humana (NYSE: HUM), which is deeply dependent on Medicare Advantage from Medicare. The healthcare provider was hit with a 10% plunge.
The announcement made ...