Wall Street was mixed in premarket trading Thursday, the final trading day in a holiday-shortened week that began relatively quietly compared with the wild swings of the past several weeks, according to the Associated Press. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.6%. Nasdaq futures were up 0.6% before the bell.
UnitedHealth Group, one of the biggest weights on the Dow, tumbled nearly 20% before the bell after the company missed Wall Street’s sales and profit targets and slashed its 2025 forecast. The health care giant said a rise in care use from its Medicare Advantage customers came in far above what the company was expecting.
Shares in the drugmaker Eli Lilly got a lift after the company reported strong Phase 3 trial results for its once-daily pill for weight loss and diabetes. Eli Lilly shares jumped 11% in premarket trading.
Hertz was off to another strong start, with shares in the auto rental company jumping another 12% in premarket. That follows Wednesday’s gain of 56%. Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman disclosed that he had taken a stake in the struggling Florida company, which emerged from bankruptcy protection during the pandemic.
Netflix shares were up 1.4% in premarket ahead of the streaming entertainment giant’s latest financial results, which come after the closing bell Thursday.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 87 cents to $62.70 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 80 cents to $66.65 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 142.53 Japanese yen from 141.88 yen.
