UnitedHealth stock is adding more than 200 points to the Dow's price

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) are single-handedly keeping the Dow Jones Industrial Average in positive territory, as they surged 7.2% in afternoon trading in the wake of the health insurer's better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and full-year outlook. The stock's price gain of $32.07, is the second-best since it went public in October 1984, behind only the record $33.21 rally seen on Nov. 4, 2020. The price gain, which was more than the combined price declines ($23.80) of the all Dow components trading lower, was adding about 211 points to the Dow's price, as the Dow rose 130 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.1. UnitedHealth's stock is the highest priced component in the Dow, meaning it has the biggest influence on the price of the Dow, which is a price weighted index. For example, a similar percentage gain of 7.2% in the lowest price Dow stock, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.'s (WBA), would only add about 14 points to the Dow's price.

-Tomi Kilgore

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07-14-23 1338ET

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