Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell slightly on Thursday extending losses from one session earlier, in spite of a surge in hospital stocks and a potential major merger in the managed health care industry, after the Supreme Court upheld a provision in the Affordable Care Act validating subsidies in states that did not set up their own insurance exchanges.
A ruling against the provision would have threatened millions of dollars worth of subsidies in more than 35 U.S. states and may have jeopardized the program altogether. Shares in a plethora of prominent hospital such as Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), HCA Holdings Inc . (NYSE:HCA) and Community Health Systems Inc (NYSE:CYH) skyrocketed upon the news, each ending the session up more than 8%.
Hours later, reports surfaced of a potential imminent merger between health insurers Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) and Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM), as lingering uncertainties in the health care industry waned following the ruling. Shares in Humana jumped more than 7% to 197.51, while Aetna gained nearly 4% to 132.60 following the news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite index fell mildly, moving lower for the second consecutive session. The Dow lost 75.71 or 0.42% to 17,890.36, while the NASDAQ dipped 10.22 or 0.20% to 5,112.19, as concerns relating to the stalled Greek Debt negotiations weighed.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, fell 6.27 or 0.30% to 2,102.31, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy and Utilities sectors lagged, each ending the session down by more than 0.5%. Stocks in the Telecommunications and Health Care industries led, each gaining more than 0.35%.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) ended the day as the top performer on the Dow, providing signals that the Court's ruling could enable further M&A activity. Shares in UnitedHealth gained 3.16 or 2.65% to 122.33. The worst performer was Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 1.45 or 1.64% to 86.72.
On the NASDAQ, the biggest gainer was Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) which jumped 3.62 or 1.37% to 268.79. The worst performer was Keurig Green Mountain Inc (NASDAQ:GMCR), which dipped 2.88 or 3.55% to 78.30. Shares in Keurig Green Mountain are down by more than 32% this year.
Tenet Healthcare was the top performer on the S&P 500, ahead of Zoeti, Humana and Aetna. The worst performer was CenturyLink Inc (NYSE:CTL), which tumbled 1.96 or 6.15% to 29.92.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2,005 to 1,121 margin.