Wall Street Swings As Healthcare Sinks And Tech Surges

Wall Street found itself on a rollercoaster ride Tuesday, January 27, 2026, as investors digested a flurry of mixed corporate earnings, surprising economic data, and looming decisions from the Federal Reserve. The day’s trading session painted a picture of a market torn between optimism in technology and industrial sectors and sharp losses in healthcare, all against a backdrop of shifting macroeconomic currents.

The S&P 500 inched up 0.5%, positioning itself tantalizingly close to its all-time high set just weeks earlier, according to the Associated Press. Yet, beneath the surface, more stocks within the index fell than rose, highlighting the selective nature of the day’s gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, stumbled 382 points, or 0.8%, by late morning, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite surged 0.9% as Big Tech continued to flex its muscle.

Investors were bracing for the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated rate decision scheduled for Wednesday. As reported by XTB, many on Wall Street expect the Fed to hold its main interest rate steady, given that inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank’s 2% target. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked down slightly to 4.21%, reflecting a cautious bond market ahead of the Fed’s announcement. The Conference Board’s latest data revealed another wrinkle: U.S. consumer confidence weakened in December 2025, dropping to its lowest level since 2014—a level not seen even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adding to the day’s economic picture, U.S. housing data surprised on the upside. Home prices rose 0.6% month-over-month, double the expected increase, while prices across the 20 largest metro areas climbed 1.4% year-over-year, outpacing forecasts. However, the weekly ADP employment change came in at 7,500 jobs, slightly below the previous week’s 8,000, suggesting a labor market that remains resilient but is showing some signs of cooling.

Corporate earnings, always a key driver of market sentiment, delivered a mixed bag. UnitedHealth Group, a bellwether in the healthcare sector, saw its shares tumble more than 17% (AP reported a 19.3% drop) despite posting a quarterly profit that edged out analyst expectations. The culprit? A forecast for 2026 revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s hopes and signaled what could be the company’s first annual contraction in over three decades, as per XTB. The broader healthcare space felt the sting of a U.S. government proposal to hold payments to private Medicare plans flat next year—a move that blindsided investors who had anticipated mid-single-digit increases. As a result, Humana shares plunged about 15% to 19.6%, Elevance Health dropped 11.4%, and CVS Health sank between 11.7% and 13%.

Not all sectors were caught in the downdraft. Corning soared 17.5% after announcing a blockbuster deal with Meta Platforms worth up to $6 billion. The agreement, which will see Corning supply optical fiber and cable to help Meta expand its data centers, is so significant that Corning plans to expand its manufacturing facility in Hickory, North Carolina. This partnership underscored the ongoing boom in AI and cloud infrastructure, with other players like CoreWeave also rallying—its shares up 4% after Nvidia invested an additional $2 billion in the company.

Big Tech was a bright spot throughout the session. Apple and Microsoft rose 2% and 1.7%, respectively, with other giants like Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia also moving higher. Investors were eagerly awaiting earnings reports from these tech titans later in the week, with Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla set to report Wednesday and Apple following on Thursday. Their performance has been instrumental in propping up the broader market, even as other sectors wavered.

General Motors delivered a jolt of good news for the auto sector, climbing 9.4% (AP) to roughly 4% (XTB) after projecting up to $2 billion in profit growth for 2026 and announcing higher dividends and stock buybacks. HCA Healthcare, another standout, rallied 11.4% after beating profit expectations and greenlighting a stock repurchase program. UPS also impressed, rising 3.1% after forecasting full-year sales above Wall Street’s estimates and maintaining its strategy to shed less profitable package volume.

Not all earnings stories were upbeat. Agilysys dropped 12% after a fiscal third-quarter adjusted EPS miss, a typical fate for stocks that fail to justify their lofty valuations. Sanmina fell 8% following a revenue outlook that disappointed. In the airline sector, American Airlines managed a 3% gain after its fourth-quarter results, while JetBlue slumped 3% on a wider-than-expected loss, highlighting the ongoing challenges of the industry. The Associated Press noted that American Airlines’ profit for the end of 2025 fell short of expectations, partly due to revenue lost during the government shutdown.

Defense and aerospace stocks showed mixed results. Northrop Grumman slipped 1% after issuing a full-year adjusted EPS outlook below consensus, while Redwire, a smaller space sector player, soared 15% on news of a U.S. missile defense program contract. The largest U.S. defense contractor, RTX Corp (formerly Raytheon), gained about 3% after surpassing fourth-quarter EPS expectations.

Amid all this, the S&P 500’s push toward the 7,000 level—an area that triggered declines in December—was closely watched. Sector selectivity was the name of the game: while healthcare and some industrials faltered, technology and logistics stocks found favor, reflecting shifting investor sentiment ahead of the Fed’s decision and major earnings releases.

Internationally, markets were buoyant. Stock indexes rose across Europe and Asia, with India’s Sensex adding 0.4% after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a landmark free trade deal with the European Union. The agreement, touching 2 billion people, was finalized after nearly two decades of negotiations and comes as the U.S. targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs. South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also posted sizable gains, up 2.7% and 1.4%, respectively.

The day’s market action reflected a complex web of crosscurrents. Investors weighed positive signals from tech, autos, and logistics against sharp declines in healthcare and uncertainties around monetary policy. With the Federal Reserve’s next move on the horizon and some of the world’s most influential companies set to report earnings, Wall Street’s next chapter promises to be just as eventful as the last.