Maybe the Dow is cursed this year?
The blue-chip index pulled back to breakeven despite the best efforts from UnitedHealth stock. It joined the S&P 500, which was down 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was also down 0.2%.
The market was generally mixed to start the day, but UnitedHealth’s 11% gain helped push the Dow to its highest levels on record. But the rest of the market fell further after a downcast update on consumer sentiment.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 58.6 in August from 61.7 in the prior month, according to preliminary figures. The consensus among economists polled by FactSet called for an uptick to 62.2.
This isn’t the first time the Dow was on the verge of a record before pulling back: Last month, the index finished just 3.75 points away from its first record close of the year before dropping 303 points the following day. It’s been in a hole until today.