S&P 500 Hits New High Before Big Tech Earnings, Fed: Stock Market Today
The tech-heavy Nasdaq also shone in Tuesday's session, while UnitedHealth dragged on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Stocks were mixed Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a busy stretch of mega-cap earnings announcements and tomorrow's policy statement from the Federal Reserve. While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite extended their daily win streaks to five, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session in the red.
At the close, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% at 6,978 – a new record high – and the Nasdaq was 0.9% higher at 23,817. This marked the fifth straight win for each index.
Boosting them both was positive price action for several Big Tech stocks ahead of their respective turns on the earnings calendar. Meta Platforms (META), for one, rose 0.09% today as the Facebook parent prepares to disclose its fourth-quarter results after Wednesday's close.
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Microsoft (MSFT), which also reports after tomorrow's close, gained 2.2%, while Apple (AAPL), whose fiscal Q1 results will be released late Thursday, jumped 1.1%.
"Investors are looking for tech earnings to drive the next leg of this bull market, with equities reaching fresh records before quarterly reports are even published," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
Torres adds that this risk-on attitude "is emblematic of participants believing that the prints will deliver beats and raises overall, pointing to an extended runway ahead for AI that could continue bolstering economic performance and asset prices."
But the Dow Jones Industrial Average did not participate in today's tech-fueled upside, with the blue-chip index sinking 0.8% to 49,003.
UnitedHealth plummets on Medicare Advantage payment proposal
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) was by far the worst Dow Jones stock today, diving 19.6% after the health insurer reported a fourth-quarter revenue miss and gave soft full-year revenue guidance.
Also weighing on UNH was the Trump administration's proposal to increase payments to Medicare Advantage insurers by 0.09% on average in 2027, far less than the 4% to 6% rise Wall Street expected.
"The proposal includes unfavorable changes to risk adjustment and diagnostic coding at a time when health insurers are struggling with elevated medical utilization and cost trends that caused significant sub-industry earnings declines in 2025," says CFRA Research analyst Daniel Rich.
The final rate, which helps determine how much insurers charge for monthly premiums and the plans they offer, won't be finalized until early April. Even if there is an improvement over the proposed 0.09% rate, Rich says it's unlikely to match 2026 levels, "providing additional industry headwinds."
Fellow managed care providers Humana (HUM, -21.1%) and CVS Health (CVS, -14.2%) also spiraled.
GM pops on earnings beat, 20% dividend hike
General Motors (GM) was one of the more notable gainers on Tuesday, surging 8.8% after the automaker reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
While GM's Q4 revenue of $45.3 billion fell just short of analysts' estimates, the company forecast "strong financial performance" in 2026.
GM also said its board of directors approved a 20% increase to its quarterly dividend and a new $6 billion stock buyback program.
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Today's outperformance is more of the same for the blue chip stock, which is up 61% on a price basis over the past 12 months vs a roughly 15% gain for the S&P 500.
Fed announcement on deck
In addition to the onslaught of earnings announcements, market participants are also looking ahead to tomorrow's policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.
No rate change is expected at the January Fed meeting following three straight rate cuts to end 2025.
Rather, the real excitement will come from Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference, where he will likely field questions on several hot topics, including a Justice Department investigation into his congressional testimony, another potential government shutdown and whether or not he will remain on the Fed board once his term as chair is up later this year.
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