Dow gains 1% as healthcare stocks lead an uneven Wall Street session
Healthcare shares lifted the Dow on October 20, while technology weighed on the S&P 500 and left the Nasdaq nearly unchanged.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.02% in New York on Tuesday, October 20, as healthcare stocks led Wall Street gains while technology shares restrained the broader market, according to AFP. The S&P 500 gained 0.28%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.02%, leaving investors with sharply different results across the three main indexes.
The Dow gained 529.85 points to close at 52,495.88. The S&P 500 added 21.84 points to 7,712.57, while the Nasdaq lost 6.07 points to 26,424.82, AFP reported. Healthcare led the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors and reached a record high. Eli Lilly contributed the most index points to the S&P 500; UnitedHealth, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen helped lift the Dow.
Why healthcare outpaced technology
Technology fell 0.3% and was the largest index-point drag on the S&P 500. Communication services dropped 0.9% as Netflix, Meta and Alphabet declined. AFP said technology shares had rebounded on Monday after a selloff the previous week, when investors worried about the spending and financing costs tied to artificial intelligence development.
Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, told AFP that investors remained skeptical about whether some companies could make money from their AI investments. He pointed to Tuesday’s gains in small-cap and healthcare stocks as signs of a shift toward other opportunities. The Russell 2000 small-cap index rose 1.7%, while the S&P 500 value index gained 0.9% and its growth counterpart fell 0.2%.
Other sectors shared in the advance. Financial services rose 1%, real estate added 1.7% and utilities gained 1.2%, AFP reported. Energy shares lagged as oil prices fell after touching a five-month high. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by roughly two to one on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, although US exchange volume of 15.91 billion shares was below the 20-session average of 17.15 billion.
Company results and the next earnings reports
Individual company news also moved shares. General Motors fell 6.8% after signalling pressure in the coming months from higher commodity costs and lower truck sales. Equifax rose 11.3% after reporting quarterly profit above analysts’ estimates, while Hasbro gained 11.2% after raising its full-year forecasts for overall revenue and digital gaming.
After the closing bell, Netflix issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for fourth-quarter profit, and its shares fell 6% in late trading, AFP reported. Meta and Tesla were scheduled to report results on Wednesday. Those announcements came after the regular session and were separate from Tuesday’s closing index moves.
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Sources and context
- Dow outperforms as Wall Street rises, healthcare stocks lead gainsChannel NewsAsia (AFP report)
- Daily U.S. Market Update, October 20, 2026New York Stock Exchange
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.