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U.S. stocks plummeted on Friday on poor economic news. Consumer confidence weakened to the lowest level since November 2023, even as long-run inflation expectations rose to the highest since 1995. The services purchasing managers’ index fell into contractionary territory and January home sales contracted by more than expected.
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As the day ended, the Dow Jones Industrial Index plunged by 748 points, or 1.6%. The S&P 500 slid 1.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 2.2%. Adding to the negative sentiment: UnitedHealth (UNH) fell almost 7% on news of a Justice Department investigation.
Notable market movers on Friday also included Alibaba, Celsius, Block, Dropbox.
UnitedHealth under DOJ’s radar
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is under fire over its Medicare billing practices. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a civil fraud investigation into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage plans.
SEC drops case against Coinbase
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to drop its enforcement case against Coinbase, marking a significant shift in cryptocurrency regulation.
Following the announcement, Coinbase’s (COIN) shares rose in the morning but declined in the afternoon. The SEC had accused Coinbase of operating an unregistered securities exchange and offering unregistered securities.
—Bruce Gil contributed to this article.
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Vinamrata Chaturvedi and Josh Fellman