Reply #7: Hospital companies jump in response to healthcare bill (yesterday's roundup)

[ozymandius]

US stocks rebounded after a weak opening yesterday following the passage of the healthcare bill but threatened to snap their recent rally as an agreement on aid for Greece at the European Union summit later in the week looked increasingly unlikely. ....

Standard & Poor's healthcare sector index outperformed the broader market, climbing 9.2 per cent. The legislative overhaul has been interpreted by some people as helping healthcare companies by adding more insured customers. ....

Healthcare insurers broadly were mixed after a rally last week. Aetna was up 0.5 per cent to $34.64, UnitedHealth Group lost 3.3 per cent to $33.25 and WellPoint fell 1.1 per cent to $64.39.

Pharma stocks gained. Pfizer rallied 1.4 per cent to $17.15, Merck rose 0.6 per cent to $38.30; Eli Lilly added 1 per cent to $36.54. Generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals was up 2.2 per cent to $64.43 and peer Mylan rallied 1.7 per cent to $22.91. Hospital companies were some of the biggest gainers of the session. Health Management rose 11.3 per cent to $9.05 and Tenet Healthcare rallied 9 per cent to $6.27.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/43546964-361a-11df-aa43-00144feabdc0.html