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The major U.S. stock indexes were mixed Thursday at midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping close to 400 points due to a plunge in UnitedHealth Group (UNH). The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were slightly higher.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares led Dow and S&P 500 decliners, after the healthcare group pared back its forecasts, citing higher costs. The company’s share price slump affected other insurers such as Humana (HUM), Elevance Health, (ELV), and CVS Health.
Nvidia (NVDA), and Advanced Micro Devices(AMD), extended Wednesday’s declines, after they warned about a hit due to new export restrictions to China. Broadcom shares (AVGO) also fell.
Eli Lilly (LLY) led S&P 500 gainers after the pharmaceutical giant released promising trial results for its oral drug pill orforglipron. BMO downgraded Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) shares, citing that the Danish drug developer had lost its lead in weight-loss drugs.
Analysts believe that Netflix (NFLX), which is scheduled to report its first-quarter results following the close of markets, is mostly protected from tariffs and a downturn in the economy.
Crude oil and the yield of the 10-year Treasury Note rose. The U.S. currency rose against the euro and the yen but lost ground against sterling. Prices for major cryptocurrencies have mostly risen.
