The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell hard on Friday, with a 0.34% drop, as the effects of the UnitedHealth (UNH) CEO assassination took its toll on the index. That assassination saw CEO Brian Thompson gunned down in the streets by an unknown assailant. The story has gripped Americans, with the suspect still on the loose and more details emerging.
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That includes words left behind by the gunman on the empty casings from the bullets fired at the CEO. These read, “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” While the exact nature of this message is unknown, many believe it to be tied to denied insurance claims.
UnitedHealth has been a controversial company concerning insurance claims. That includes a lawsuit over using artificial intelligence (AI) to deny insurance claims. This was introduced under Thompson and allegedly had a 90% error rate.
UnitedHealth Leads Stocks Pulling Dow Jones Down
Shares of UNH are down 4.96% on Friday and are behind much of the Dow Jones Industrial Average decline. However, it isn’t the only company weighing on the index. Chevron (CVX) isn’t helping with its 2.28% decrease, Proctor & Gamble (PG) is sliding 0.69%, and Boeing (BA) is decreasing 1.27% as of this writing.
On top of that, there isn’t much positive movement on the Dow Jones to counter these falls. Some of the biggest players on the index, such as Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Walmart (WMT), are only seeing marginal increases today.
How to Invest In the Dow Jones Index
Traders can’t invest in the Dow Jones directly but do have other options. That includes picking up shares in a company listed on the index. Investors might want to make a risky bet by buying UNH while it’s down or stick with a safer investment, like Apple, Microsoft, or Walmart.
Another alternative is investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. Among these are SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA), Invesco Dow Jones Industrial Average Dividend ETF (DJD), iShares Dow Jones Industrial Average UCITS ETF (IDOWF), SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (RWR), and Direxion Daily Dow Jones Internet Bull 3X Shares (WEBL).
