Photo: Mike Blake / Reuters (file)
Hospital operators and solar companies rallied while defense contractors and data-center businesses fell Wednesday, as investors adjusted their bets on federal spending and regulation after Democrats won control of Congress.
HCA Healthcare and Universal Health Services each gained about 10%, while Lockheed Martin fell nearly 7%, according to CNBC’s sector report published at 1:45 p.m. Eastern. The figures below are intraday snapshots from that report, not closing prices.
The divide matters beyond the headline market rally: businesses exposed to healthcare funding and clean-energy policy attracted buyers, while companies dependent on military spending or rapid AI-infrastructure expansion came under pressure. The moves reflected expectations about the next Congress, not newly enacted spending or regulatory changes.
Hospitals and insurers rise on healthcare hopes
Alongside the roughly 10% gains in HCA and Universal Health Services, Tenet Healthcare rose 9%. Among insurers, Centene gained 9%, Molina Healthcare added 8% and Elevance Health rose 4%, CNBC reported.
Investors were betting on a slowdown or reversal in healthcare spending cuts and the possibility of extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. Those outcomes still require political agreement.
In an earlier Reuters report, BNP Paribas economist Anis Bensaidani cautioned that Democrats might lack the numbers to restore major parts of the ACA, while still gaining bargaining power in negotiations over defense spending and government funding.
Solar shares gain as defense contractors retreat
Nextpower and Canadian Solar each jumped more than 11%, First Solar gained 8%, Plug Power rose 7.5% and Sunrun added 5% in CNBC’s snapshot. NextEra Energy rose 4%.
The clean-energy trade reflected hopes that a Democratic Congress would resist the Trump administration’s retreat from policies supporting the industry. Reuters also reported a premarket rally in renewable-energy shares, although its earlier percentage changes differed from CNBC’s later snapshot.
Defense stocks moved in the opposite direction. Lockheed Martin fell nearly 7%, Northrop Grumman dropped about 5%, Howmet Aerospace lost 4% and RTX slipped 3%, CNBC reported. Investors were weighing whether President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion fiscal 2027 defense request would face a tougher path through Congress.
The selling extended to drone manufacturers: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions fell 10.5%, while AeroVironment and Red Cat each lost 9%. Those price moves do not establish that contracts have been canceled or that Congress has cut the requested budget.
Data-center exposure becomes a dividing line
CoreWeave fell 9%, Iren dropped 10% and Nebius lost 6% in CNBC’s report. Infrastructure names also weakened, with Comfort Systems down 16% and Vistra falling 14%.
Investors were assessing the prospect of tighter scrutiny of AI infrastructure and local restrictions on construction. That did not translate into a uniform technology selloff: Apple and Microsoft each rose more than 6%, while Alphabet gained 4%, CNBC reported.
For companies planning investment, the distinction is between a change in political expectations and a change in law. Wednesday’s sector moves priced in possible shifts in spending, subsidies and oversight; the actual business effects will depend on what lawmakers and state officials do next.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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