Record-High S&P 500: Why Did the Dow Lag Behind?

The New York stock market closed mixed in late trading on January 28 (Korea time). The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.68% to 49,077.63, weighed down by a steep drop in UnitedHealth, while the S&P 500 rose 0.21% to 6,965.10—its highest closing level ever—and the Nasdaq climbed 0.49%. Despite the healthcare-sector sell-off, strong earnings expectations for large tech companies and ongoing AI investment supported the broader indexes.

On the policy front, ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on January 28–29, markets largely expect the Fed to leave its key rate unchanged at 3.50–3.75%. Investors see Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on the timing and pace of future rate cuts as the biggest variable. January’s U.S. consumer-confidence reading fell to its lowest level since 2014, but markets interpreted the decline less as a signal of worsening growth and more as an increased chance the Fed will adopt a more accommodative stance—limiting the impact on share prices.

At the corporate level, a government proposal to cap the 2027 Medicare Advantage premium increase at just 0.09% triggered a late-teens percentage drop in UnitedHealth’s shares and pressured peers such as Humana and CVS. By contrast, companies like UPS and General Motors rose on solid results and upbeat guidance, partially offsetting broader economic concerns, while big tech names—Microsoft, Nvidia and Apple—drove Nasdaq gains.

Globally, a weaker dollar and gold trading above $2,000 an ounce have bolstered risk-asset demand. Geopolitical and trade tensions have eased for now after the U.S. dialed back planned Greenland tariffs and India and the EU reached a trade-agreement framework.