The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up Wednesday morning with shares of Merck and UnitedHealth leading the way for the index.
The Dow DJIA, +0.23% is trading 114 points, or 0.4%, higher, as shares of Merck MRK, +0.53% and UnitedHealth UNH, +1.99% are contributing about a quarter of the blue-chip gauge’s intraday rally. Merck’s shares are up $1.78, or 1.9%, while those of UnitedHealth are up $9.42, or 1.9%, combining for a roughly 74-point boost for the Dow. Procter & Gamble PG, +0.93%, Walmart WMT, +0.71%, and Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.96% are also contributing significantly to the gain. A $1 move in any of the benchmark’s 30 components equates to a 6.59-point swing.