Wall Street sets record as trading ends day mixed

Wall Street ticked to a record on Tuesday, as stocks zigzagged under the market’s surface following mixed profit reports from UnitedHealth, General Motors and other big companies.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and edged past its prior all-time high set a couple of weeks ago, even though more stocks fell within the index than rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 408 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9%.

UnitedHealth Group tumbled 19.6% despite reporting a profit for the latest quarter that was a bit better than analysts expected. Health care stocks also felt tremendous pressure from a projected rate increase for Medicare Advantage by the U.S. government, which fell well short of what investors had hoped. Humana skidded by 21.1%, Elevance Health dropped 14.3% and CVS Health sank 14.2%.

Helping to offset those losses was Corning, which climbed 15.6% after announcing a deal with Meta Platforms that’s worth up to $6 billion. Corning will supply optical fiber and cable to help build out data centers for Meta, enough that Corning is expanding its optical-fiber manufacturing facility in Hickory, North Carolina.

GM Shares Rise as 2026 outlook raises hopes

General Motors said Tuesday it expected a substantial rise in profits in 2026 and planned to buy back up to $6 billion worth of its own stock. The news appeared to please investors who bid up its stock price.

GM said it made $2.7 billion last year, down from $6 billion in 2024. The 2025 total was lowered by some $7.6 billion in losses the company previously reported as it pulled back on its electric vehicle strategy and lowered production of those cars. The losses in part reflected a decline in the value of factories and related investments.

For 2026, the automaker expects to earn $10.3 billion to $11.7 billion, saying sales of high-profit gas-powered pickup trucks and large SUVs would rise. GM also said it was increasing its quarterly dividend by 20%, to 18 cents per common share.

Amazon Go and Fresh closing as focus shifts

Amazon said it’s closing all of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh locations, as the online behemoth focuses on its grocery delivery, Whole Foods Market and a new “supersized” store concept.

The Seattle-based online retailer said Tuesday in a blog post that it plans to convert some of those soon-to-be shuttered locations into Whole Foods Market stores. The company operates 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go stores.

Amazon noted that customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas for “fast and convenient delivery.”

The last day of operation for Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores is Feb. 1, with the exception of its California locations, which will remain open longer to comply with state requirements, Amazon said.

UPS looks to cut up to 30,000 jobs this year

UPS is planning to cut up to 30,000 operational jobs this year as the package delivery company continues with its turnaround efforts and reducing the number of Amazon shipments that it handles.

Last year, UPS started on a plan to reduce dependency on its largest customer, Amazon, and focus on higher-profit areas such as healthcare customers.

Chief Financial Officer Brian Dykes said during the company’s conference call on Tuesday that the job cuts will be made through a voluntary buyout offer for full-time drivers and through attrition.

“This is a tactical move,” he said during a call with analysts. “We did something similar last year in order to help us to right-size the position levels and the network infrastructure with the new volume and delivery levels.”

UPS is looking to close 24 buildings in the first half of the year and is evaluating additional buildings to close later in the year, he added.

— Press Democrat news services