FINANCIAL MARKETS
NEW YORK—U.S. stocks were divided Tuesday as health insurers declined after the failure of the latest Republican health care bill while a big jump in subscribers for Netflix sent technology and consumer-focused companies higher.
Stocks spent most of the day lower after the health care push stalled and several financial firms, including Goldman Sachs, reported underwhelming second-quarter results. Energy and industrial companies also slipped.
While stocks flirted with larger losses and most of the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange fell, the gains for tech and consumer stocks were enough to send the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq composite to new highs.
Wall Street did not have a big reaction to the Republican health care defeat, as it did when a related bill failed in March. After four months of struggles over health care, investors don’t expect as much from Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump on other issues.
The S&P 500 rose 1.47 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,460.61, just above the record it set Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 54.99 points, or 0.3 percent, to 21,574.73. Goldman Sachs was responsible for almost all of that loss. The Nasdaq composite climbed 29.87 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,344.31 as tech companies like Facebook and Alphabet, the parent of Google, rose.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks sank 3.99 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,427.61. That index closed at an all-time high Monday. Netflix jumped after the company said it added 5.2 million subscribers over the last three months, and for the first time, it has more subscribers outside the U.S. than in it. The second quarter is usually a slow period for Netflix, so investors were pleased to see the big gain. Netflix gained $21.90, or 13.5 percent, to $183.60. Among other consumer companies, Amazon added $14.34, or 1.4 percent, to $1,024.38.
The Senate Republican health care bill was defeated Monday night when two more GOP senators announced they opposed it, which prevented the proposal from coming to a vote. Republican leaders shifted their efforts to repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act without creating a replacement law, but that effort was quickly shut down as well. Benchmark U.S. crude added 38 cents to $46.40 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 42 cents to $48.84 a barrel in London.
Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.58 a gallon. Heating oil added 1 cent to $1.51 a gallon. Natural gas added 7 cents to $3.09 per 1,000 cubic feet.