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The S&P 500 dropped 2.4% on Monday, April 21, as President Donald Trump scorned the head of the Federal Reserve and China cautioned its trading partners against adversarial deals.
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Shares of Universal Health Services sank following a report that government cost-cutters could target hospital chains' Medicaid profits.
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Regulators said Capital One can proceed with its purchase of Discover Financial, and shares of both credit card issuers gained ground.
Major U.S. equities indexes tumbled to start the trading week as President Donald Trump stepped up his denunciations of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and China warned of retaliation against countries entering trade deals that are not in China's interest.
The S&P 500 plummeted 2.4%, the Dow slid 2.5%, and the Nasdaq closed 2.6% lower.
Universal Health Services (UHS) shares plunged 10.2%, the most of any S&P 500 stock, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Republican officials interested in cutting costs could target Medicaid-related profits generated by hospital chains. According to the report, supplemental Medicaid payment programs accounted for more than half of Universal Health Services' pretax revenue last year.
Shares of asset management giant Blackstone (BX) dropped 7.8%. Although strength in private equity and credit helped the company top profit forecasts in Thursday's quarterly earnings report, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman suggested that economic uncertainty could impinge on asset sales in the near term.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Energy is considering significant cuts of nearly $10 billion in funding for clean energy projects. While the reduced funding could affect a variety of energy technologies, nuclear generators were one group facing pressure during Monday's trading session. Shares of Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy (CEG) fell 7.7% and 6.8%, respectively.
Federal regulators consented to Capital One Financial's (COF) purchase of Discover Financial Services (DFS) while markets were closed on Friday. The combined entity is set to become the largest credit card company in terms of customers' outstanding balances. Discover Financial shares added 3.6% to notch the S&P 500's top performance on Monday, the first trading session following the approval. Capital One shares were up 1.5%.
Shares of financial technology firm Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) gained 2.4% after Citi upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral" and lifted its price target. Analysts highlighted a deal announced last week that helped Fidelity National expand its presence in the credit card processing space, suggesting potential cross-selling opportunities with clients in the banking industry.