US stocks today: US stocks end higher as healthcare stocks lift Dow, tech a breather

ETMarkets.com

The S&P 500 rose 0.31% to 7,714.52, while the Dow gained 1.05% to 52,513.98. The Nasdaq slipped 0.03% to 26,421.84,

Healthcare leads the rotation

Healthcare emerged as the strongest performing sector in the S&P 500, with the index hitting a record high. Eli Lilly helped lift the benchmark, while Dow components UnitedHealth, Merck & Co, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen also gained. Moderna climbed to its highest level since 2022.

Defensive sectors such as real estate and utilities also outperformed, while smallcap stocks gained, pointing to a broader shift away from heavyweight technology names.

"Equity investors are still a little skeptical around the AI trade and the ability for some of these companies to monetize their investments, so you're seeing a bit of a rotation into other areas of the market," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, according to Reuters.

"Investors are looking for other opportunities outside of tech, and healthcare is one of the beneficiaries of that," he said.

Tech pauses after rebound

Technology stocks traded largely flat after recovering from last week's selloff. Concerns over the scale of spending and financing costs tied to artificial intelligence continued to weigh on sentiment.

Declines in megacap stocks dragged the communication services sector lower, with Meta, Netflix and Alphabet among the weaker names. Energy stocks also underperformed as oil prices eased after touching a five month high.

General Motors fell after signalling pressure from higher commodity costs and weaker truck sales. In contrast, 3M advanced after expanding its data centre partnership with Amazon and raising its full year profit forecast.

Equifax rallied after reporting third quarter profit above analysts' estimates, while Hasbro gained after raising its full year revenue and digital gaming forecasts.