Wall Street ends mixed; Cisco rallies while UnitedHealth tumbles
Wall Street stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with gains in Cisco Systems following an upbeat forecast, while UnitedHealth tumbled after a report of a criminal investigation into the insurer.
The S&P 500 has more than recovered from a deep selloff in April triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war, as investors bet Washington will reach deals to roll back steep tariffs that economists worry will drive up consumer prices.
Cisco Systems jumped almost 5% after the networking company raised its annual forecast, driven by the artificial intelligence boom.
UnitedHealth Group plunged 11% to a five-year low after the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. Department of Justice was conducting a criminal investigation into the company for possible Medicare fraud. UnitedHealth said it had not been informed of a criminal probe by federal prosecutors.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.41% to end at 5,916.93 points.
The Nasdaq declined 0.18% to 19,112.32 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.65% to 42,322.75 points.
Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, eight rose, led by utilities, up 2.1%, followed by a 2% gain in consumer staples.
The S&P 500 remains about 4% below its record high close on February 19.
Earlier in the day, data showed U.S. retail sales growth slowed in April, while a separate report showed producer prices unexpectedly fell last month. That followed a relatively tame consumer price reading earlier in the week.
Source : Reuters
