Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Friday 9 March 2018
A25

Stocks rise as Trump signs tariffs, but trade fears ease

rose after pharmacy bene- The insurer Cigna will spend
fits manager Express Scripts about $52 billion to acquire
accepted a $52 billion offer the nation's biggest phar-
from health insurer Cigna. macy benefit manager,
Technology companies Express Scripts, the latest in
also moved higher, but a string of proposed deals
energy companies slipped as health care's bill payers
along with oil prices. attempt to get a grip on
The Standard & Poor's 500 rising costs. Express Scripts
index climbed 12.17 points, jumped $6.30, or 8.6 per-
or 0.4 percent, to 2,738.97. cent, to $79.72 while Cigna
The Dow Jones industrial lost $22.25, or 11.5 percent,
average rose 93.85 points, to $172.
or 0.4 percent, to 24,895.21. Pharmacy benefit manag-
The Nasdaq composite ers run drug plans for insur-
rose for the fifth day in a ers and employer-based
row, gaining 31.30 points, plans. Like health insurers,
or 0.4 percent, to 7,427.95. they have struggled to cor-
The Russell 2000 index of ral spiraling costs, so in the
smaller-company stocks last few years several big
dipped 2.57 points, or 0.2 health insurers have cre-
percent, to 1,571.97. The ated their own pharmacy
index had jumped 4.5 benefits management busi-
Trader Robert Oswald, center, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks finished with
modest gains Thursday after President Donald Trump formally ordered tariffs on steel and alumi- percent over the previ- nesses or bough them. And
num imports. ous four days as discussion late last year, drugstore
(AP Photo/Richard Drew) about the proposed tariffs chain and pharmacy ben-
prompted investors to buy efits manager CVS agreed
By MARLEY JAY ports that Canada and invite less backlash from U.S.-focused companies to buy insurer Aetna for $69
AP Markets Writer Mexico will be exempted other countries. and sell multinational firms. billion.
NEW YORK (AP) — After indefinitely from the tariffs "The president's tone was Friday could prove to be Investors expect February’s
hours of indecisive trading, and that other countries will far more pragmatic," said another dramatic day on jobs report will show anoth-
stocks finished with modest be invited to negotiate for Quincy Krosby, chief mar- Wall Street as investors re- er month of strong hiring.
gains Thursday after Presi- exemptions as well. ket strategist at Prudential view the government's According to FactSet, they
dent Donald Trump formal- Congressional Republicans Financial. "This certainly is February jobs report. Stocks expect to see that hourly
ly ordered tariffs on steel and business leaders op- not the strict tariff proposal tumbled after the January wages grew 2.8 percent.
and aluminum imports with pose the tariffs and have that the president had sug- report showed unexpect- The South Korean Kospi
the terms were less harsh pushed for the administra- gested in the past couple edly strong growth in wag- gained 1.3 percent.q
than investors had feared. tion to take a more mea- of weeks." es, which set off worries
Stocks rallied following re- sured approach that would Health care companies about inflation.

Cigna buying Express Scripts for $52 billion

By TOM MURPHY health care from a system with chronic conditions, like Aetna and CVS have said
AP Health Writer that treats the sick to one a diabetic who needs reg- they hope to create "front
Health insurer Cigna is buy- that essentially tries to pre- ular blood sugar monitoring doors" to care through CVS
ing the nation's biggest vent you from getting sick and care to stave off heart drugstores.
pharmacy benefit manag- in the first place or keeps attacks or other serious ill- That deal could turn many
er, Express Scripts, the lat- you out of an expensive nesses. of the chain's more than
est in a string of proposed hospital. "They want to be the con- 9,800 locations into one-
tie-ups as health care's bill They're not the only ones sumer's partner in manag- stop shopping for an ar-
payers attempt to get a hunting for solutions. Ama- ing their health through ray of health care needs
grip on rising costs. zon said earlier this year data and services that help like blood work and eye or
The $52 billion deal an- that it will collaborate with them take charge of their hearing care, in addition to
nounced Thursday follows billionaire Warren Buffett own health," said health their traditional role of filling
the drugstore chain CVS and JPMorgan Chase to economist Paul Keckley. prescriptions.q
Health Corp.'s roughly $69 create a company that
billion bid to buy the insurer provides their employees
Aetna Inc., an acquisition with high-quality, afford-
the companies detailed in able care. No one knows
December. what that means yet, but it
Insurers and pharmacy sent a shudder through the
benefit managers — which industry.
run drug plans for insurers Insurers and others say they
and employer-based plans want to get more involved
— have struggled to keep in patient care, to supple-
costs under control for cli- ment what a regular doc-
ents like big companies tor provides and keep peo-
that provide coverage to ple healthy and on their
their workers. medications. They are es-
They are pushing to shift pecially focused on those