Las Vegas Sands is rising. Molina Healthcare declines as medical costs rise

A casino, hotel and resort operator touted benefits from recent projects in Asia as factors behind its strong quarterly performance, and its shares rose. Meanwhile, the health insurance company’s stock fell after the company announced increases in medical costs, especially in its government-sponsored plans.

Major US stock indexes rose on Thursday as more earnings results came in ahead of key inflation data due on Friday morning. Rising oil prices helped boost the energy sector, and technology stocks rebounded from Wednesday’s negative session. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, while the Dow Jones rose 0.3%. The Nasdaq index jumped 0.9%. Read more reports from Investopedia On today’s key market stories.

Although the Dow Jones (DOW) fell short of analysts’ estimates on its third-quarter net sales, the chemicals giant reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the period, and its shares rose 13% on Thursday. The company acknowledged pricing and demand challenges but pointed to cost-cutting measures and positive contributions from new assets on the US Gulf Coast as reasons for optimism.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands (LVS) rose 12.4% after the casino operator posted better-than-expected revenue and adjusted earnings per share for the third quarter. CEO Robert Goldstein highlighted the benefits of recent investments in its properties in Macau and Singapore. The company also increased its existing share repurchase authorization and boosted its annual dividend.

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) jumped 10.9% on the heels of a strong third-quarter earnings report. The pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems provider beat top and bottom line estimates for the period and boosted full-year sales and profit forecasts, citing strong demand for ingredients used in GLP-1 injectable weight-loss and diabetes treatments.

Oil prices rose after the United States imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies. Shares of exploration and production company APA Corp. jumped. (APA) by 7.6%, causing oil and gas stocks to rise.

Shares of Molina Healthcare (MOH) fell 17.5%, the most of any stock in the S&P 500, after the health insurer failed to meet quarterly earnings per share expectations. Molina’s medical cost ratio — a key measure that reflects the share of premiums paid by insurers on medical claims — was higher than a year ago, prompting the company to cut its annual profit forecast for the third time this year. Cost pressures have been particularly acute for plans offered through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace.

Shares of Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) fell 8.7% after the AI ​​server specialist cut its sales forecast for the fiscal first quarter of 2026. The company cited a shift in delivery schedules that pushed back some revenue from key AI customers in the following quarter.

Equipment rental company United Rentals (URI) reported mixed third-quarter results, beating revenue expectations but missing earnings estimates. Inflationary pressure, increased delivery costs and lower market pricing for used equipment impacted the company’s results. Shares fell 7.8%.