UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc

By Nathan Allen 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Thursday, crossing 27000 for the first time, as shares of UnitedHealth Group helped the blue-chip index rally more than 200 points after the Trump administration dropped a plan that would have upended the health-care industry.

The Dow industrials recently rose 208 points, or 0.8%, to 26992, and traded as high as 27007 early in the session. The the S&P 500 added 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%.

The Trump administration said it is dropping a plan to curb billions of dollars in annual rebates that drugmakers give middlemen in Medicare, a move that had the potential to disrupt the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. UnitedHealth soared 4.5%, leading the Dow industrials higher.

In the S&P 500, Cigna rallied 12%, while CVS Health added 7.7%. Other big gainers included Anthem and Cardinal Health.

Elsewhere, minutes from the European Central Bank's June policy meeting showed that officials are likely to consider injecting fresh stimulus into the eurozone in light of weak inflation data. The minutes suggest policy makers will weigh cutting the bank's key interest rate or restarting its 2.6 trillion euro ($2.92 trillion) bond-buying program.

Stocks in Europe edged higher, as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2%.

U.S. government-bond yields extended early gains after data showed that consumer prices rose in June, a sign inflationary pressures could be stabilizing after a period of weakness. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose faster than expected. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasurys climbed to 2.086% Thursday, from 2.061% Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Equity markets had faltered in recent sessions amid concerns that investors were overestimating the likelihood of a rate cut. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments and minutes from the Fed's June policy meeting reassured traders that further easing is the most likely course of action.

Mr. Powell is speaking again on Thursday, though analysts don't expect him to provide much new information. U.S. consumer-inflation data will be in focus, as weak inflation would support the case for further monetary easing.

"Powell needs a low inflation number to bolster the rate-cut case. If it proves to be just like last week's employment read and also comes in strong, then perhaps we've all been overeager for a cut," said Mike Loewengart, head of investment strategy at E*Trade.

-- Michael Wursthorn contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 11, 2019 10:10 ET (14:10 GMT)

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