WASHINGTON (AP) — Stocks of hospital companies rose sharply and insurance companies fell Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld a requirement that almost all Americans carry health insurance.

The stock of Hospital Corp. of America, the largest private hospital chain in the United States, rose a little more than 7 percent. Quest Diagnostics, which runs laboratories, rose almost 3 percent.

Gary Taylor, a financial analyst for Citi Investment Research, wrote in a note to clients that the ruling was "a surprise win for hospital companies," which stand to benefit from tens of millions more people getting health insurance.