Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq stocks slide as US-China chip feud rattles trade nerves

More losses are weighing on UnitedHealth Group stock (UNH), which traded % lower an hour ahead of the opening bell.

First, HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth shares to Reduce from Hold and slashed its price target by around 45% to $270, a Street low. The analysts cited UnitedHealth’s leadership change and pulled guidance as risks to earnings going forward.

Also on Wednesday, the Guardian reported that the healthcare conglomerate secretly paid nursing homes thousands in bonuses to help cut hospital transfers for ailing residents, per Reuters. The move is said to have saved the company millions while risking the health of residents.

UnitedHealth, which is the largest Dow (^DJI) component by weight, has been a drag on the index recently. My colleague Anjalee Khemlani detailed a timeline of UnitedHealth’s downward spiral over the past two years, which you can read here, as a cyberattack, the killing of its health insurance business’s CEO, and a DOJ investigation have set shares back.