S&P 500 top movers: HCA soars after company reports nearly 38% increase in Q2 profit

S&P 500 is clinging to modest daily gains on Wednesday.
HCA gains more than 11% as the top performer of the day.
FirstEnergy Corp (FE) shares fall sharply on legal concerns.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Major equity indexes in the US started the day near Tuesday's closing levels as investors seem to be refraining from making any large bets ahead of key second-quarter earnings reports. As of writing, the S&P 500 ındex was up 0.12% on the day at 3,216 points.

S&P 500 top movers

Earlier in the day, hospital operator HCA Healthcare Inc (HCA) reported that profit in the second quarter rose nearly 38% after the company received $822 million in government stimulus under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. At the moment, HCA is trading at $121,96, gaining 11.56% as the top-gainer of the day.

Meanwhile, NVR Inc (NVR) reported that revenue fell by 6.2% to $1.59 billion on a yearly basis in the second quarter to match analysts' estimates. However, the home construction company said new orders in that period increased by 13% to 5,901 units. As of writing, NVR was up nearly 9% on the day.

On the other hand, FirstEnergy Corp (FE) shares fell sharply and lost more than 25% earlier in the day before recovering modestly. On Tuesday, Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four other individuals got arrested in a $60 million nuclear bailout bribery case. Reports of FirstEnergy receiving subpoenas in connection with that federal case triggered a heavy selloff on Wednesday. As of writing, FE was down 16% on the day at $28.75.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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