In the health care arena, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee unveiled a summary of his long-awaited health care plan. Sen. Max Baucus’ plan would cost $865 billion over 10 years and mandate insurance coverage for all Americans, report David M. Herszenhorn and Robert Pear for The New York Times. One major change is that the measure drops the public health insurance option favored by President Barack Obama and instead calls for non-profit health-care cooperatives. The plan aims to make it easier for small groups and individuals to have health care coverage. The news sent the Healthcare Select SPDR (NYSEArca: XLV) up about 0.5% in morning trading.
Overall, all three major U.S. indexes were up in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8%, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq added 1.1% each.
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Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.