Markets Cave After 'Obamacare' Ruling

Markets are getting hammered:

▼ Dow: -1.11 percent

▼ Nasdaq: -1.67 percent

▼ S&P: -1.11 percent

NEW YORK (The Blaze/AP) -- Stocks dropped sharply Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld the central provision of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, a requirement that almost all Americans carry health insurance.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which was down about 100 points before the court ruled, fell further and was down 160 points at 11 a.m. EDT.

Dow Jones as of 1:30 EST

Health care stocks were down significantly, but bank stocks were the biggest losers in the broader market.

JPMorgan fell the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow average after the New York Times reported that its loss from a complex trade that went wrong could swell to $9 billion, much larger than the bank has acknowledged. The bank had said previously the loss was $2 billion but could get larger. JPMorgan lost $1.10, or 3 percent, to $35.69.

Stocks of major insurance companies fell sharply as analysts sorted through the ruling. UnitedHealth Group declined 3 percent, WellPoint almost 6 percent and AFLAC 1.5 percent.

Hospital chains rose. Hospital Corp. of America was up 7 percent. Quest Diagnostics, which runs laboratories, was up 2.5 percent.

Furthermore, there was little for investors to like in new reports on the U.S. economy.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.9 percent in the January-March quarter, according to a new government estimate. Consumer spending, which accounts for a huge part of the economy, grew 2.5 percent, below the previous 2.7 percent estimate. The four-week average of applications for unemployment benefits didn't decline, a sign that layoffs aren't easing.

S&P 500 as of 1:30 EST

In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 17 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,314 and the technology Nasdaq composite index was off 47 points at 2,828. That's a loss of 1.6 percent.

Nasdaq as of 1:30 EST

The Associated Press contributed to this report.