Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday, as a surge in health care stocks was offset by a slump in financials, as banks prepared to release their latest stress test results.
Health stocks extended gains from the previous session, as investors look ahead to the unveiling of Senate’s health care bill, which aims to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Under the bill, reimbursements to health insurance companies would continue for at least two years, however, both taxes and the expansion of Medicaid’s program – popular components of Obamacare – would be phased out.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week.
Financials, mostly banks, came under pressure during the session, weighing on the broader market as investors braced for the results of 34 banks that were subject to the Fed’s stress tests. Shares of Goldman Sachs closed more than 1% lower.
The tests are part of the Dodd-Frank regulatory reforms instituted after the financial crisis.
In corporate earnings news,Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) undershot earnings expectations, after the retailer reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales that missed expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,397.29. The S&P 500 closed 0.05% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6236.69, up 0.04%.
The ‘Bulls and Bears’ on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) up 0.9%, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) up 0.9%, while Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 0.8%.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) down 1.2%, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) down 0.9% and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) down 0.8%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.