UnitedHealth, Humana stocks surge toward records after report health insurance tax may be eliminated

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. jumped 3.0% toward a record high in midday trading Monday, enough to pace the 28 of 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average components that were gaining ground, amid optimism that a Congressional budget deal could eliminate a health insurance tax. Mizuho Securities analyst Ann Hynes said that optimism follows a PoliticoPro report that a year-end health deal is likely to include the elimination of three major taxes under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), including the HIF. The elimination of the HIF was set to bring in $15.5 billion of taxes in 2020, Hynes said. Shares of Humana Inc. , which Hynes said would be the biggest beneficiary of the HIF elimination, surged 4.3% toward a record high. Among some of the other bigger beneficiaries, shares of Cigna Corp. rallied 3.5% and Anthem Inc. hiked up 3.3%. Meanwhile, the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF climbed 1.3% with 53 of 61 equity components gaining ground, and the Dow rose 176 points.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.