S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today: Health Insurers Slide as Elevance Cites Medicaid Declines [Video]

Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed as earnings results from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) helped revitalize optimism around artificial intelligence (AI) and September retail sales data came in ahead of forecasts.

After trading higher for most of the session and posting an all-time intraday high, the S&P 500 lost steam in the afternoon to close the session less than 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq eked out a minimal gain of less than 0.1%, while the Dow added 0.4% to print its second straight record close.

Health insurer shares moved lower after industry player Elevance Health (ELV) missed profit estimates with its third-quarter results and lowered its guidance for the full year. The company attributed the shortfall to declines in Medicaid enrollments stemming from eligibility redeterminations and other changes. Elevance shares dropped 10.6%, while losses spread to other health insurance stocks with Medicaid exposure. Shares of Molina Healthcare (MOH) plunged 12.6%, the steepest drop in …