Dow Jones Industrial Average Drops Four Points On Square, Match Debut

How Did the Stock Market Do Today?

Dow Jones: 17,732.75; -4.41; -0.03%

S&P 500: 2,081.24; -2.34; -0.11%

Nasdaq: 5,073.64; -1.56; -0.03%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Thursday) slipped a little more than four points on a busy day of economic data and stock debuts. This morning, weekly jobless claims hit 271,000, in range of consensus expectations. The report provides little change to the overall employment conditions of November, raising the stakes for the final report of the month next week and the monthly jobs report on the following Friday. Investors continue to parse through employment data and speeches of members of the Fed Board of Governors for clues on whether the central bank will raise interest rates during the December.

The healthcare sector received a massive shock today after UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) issued a profit warning and announced it might depart from the Affordable Healthcare Exchange by 2017. The departure would be a massive blow to Obamacare and would force other health insurance companies to pick up the slack and take on more high-risk patients. UNH shares fell 5.7%, pulling its peers down with them. Shares of Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) fell 6.9%, while Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) cratered more than 6.4%.

Top Stock Market News Today

Stock Market News: Eight of 10 S&P sectors saw gains today, with healthcare and energy stocks the lone decliners. The healthcare sector received a massive shock, putting the Affordable Healthcare Act in deep jeopardy before health insurance companies are even able to begin phasing out government subsidies. Meanwhile, shares of Match Group Inc. (Nasdaq: MTCH) added 23% in its trading debut on the Nasdaq exchange. Here’s a recap of the “Match.com IPO”…

Oil in Focus: Oil prices slipped again as concerns about oversupply continue to rattle trader sentiment. December WTI prices dipped 0.8% at $40.42 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil crude – priced in London – fell 0.1% to hit $44.11. High-volume stocks Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) fell 0.5% and 1.5% on the day, respectively. Shares of Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) were off more than 2.5%.

On Tap Tomorrow: On Friday, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will give a speech on the economy and monetary policy just hours before the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index. In the afternoon, keep an eye on WTI oil prices as Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) reports its weekly rig count.