Investors saw the market rise sharply Wednesday morning.
(TMFGalagan) Mar 4, 2020 at 12:13PM
Wednesday morning brought considerable gains for major benchmarks, as market participants seemed generally pleased with the results of the Super Tuesday primary elections. A surge for former Vice President Joe Biden gave the candidate several state victories in Tuesday's races, and investors seem to prefer the prospect of a Democratic nominee with more moderate views than one with clearer antagonism toward certain aspects of the business community. As of 11 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) was up 547 points to 26,464. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 55 points to 3,058, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) gained 144 points to 8,828.
Healthcare stocks did quite well in response to the elections, and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in particular mounted a sizable recovery. Yet in the retail sector, earnings from Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) painted a less rosy picture.
A clean bill of health for UnitedHealth Group
Shares of UnitedHealth Group jumped 10% as shareholders cheered the primary results. Key victories for Biden over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) raised the likelihood that the Democratic nominee might not have as hostile a view toward health insurance companies as feared.
Sanders has long espoused Medicare for All, with the idea that existing health insurers like UnitedHealth would have their coverage entirely replaced by an expansion of the Medicare and Medicaid programs at the federal level. That stance poses an existential threat to much of UnitedHealth Group's business, and even though its non-insurance operations could presumably continue, they'd also have to see major changes to adapt to the changing environment if Medicare for All actually became law.
Biden, on the other hand, played a role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which included a much more extensive role for private insurance. Even if Biden were willing to accept some suggestions for progressive reforms to Obamacare, it's unlikely that he would swing all the way toward scrapping the program in favor of a Medicare-for-All type approach.
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