Dow briefly hits record high on UnitedHealth boost; Trump-Putin meet in focus
A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was also on the radar, with markets hoping it could pave the way for a resolution to the Ukraine conflict and determine the outlook for crude prices. The meeting will take place at 1900 GMT.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), opens new tab gained 13.5% and was on track to log its biggest daily rise since 2008 after Warren Buffett's company (BRKa.N), opens new tab revealed a new investment in the health insurer, while Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management also turned more bullish on the company.
Rising costs in the broader healthcare sector and an about 40% slump in heavyweight UnitedHealth's shares this year have left the Dow (.DJI), opens new tab lagging its Wall Street peers on the road to record highs. The price-weighted index last scaled an all-time high on December 4.
The healthcare sector (.SPXHC), opens new tab gained 1.3% on Friday and is on track for its best weekly performance since October 2022.
More broadly, Wall Street's main stock indexes are on track for their second week of gains, buoyed by expectations that the Fed could restart its monetary policy easing cycle with a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in September.
The central bank last lowered borrowing costs in December and said U.S. tariffs could add to price pressures. However, recent labor market weakness and signs that tariff-induced inflation was yet to reflect in headline consumer prices have made investors confident of a potential dovish move next month.
"The question is has the tariff gotten into the price of goods yet? And it appears that there hasn't," said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading.
Saluzzi also said while markets have largely priced in a September rate cut, investors might be overlooking risks, with low volatility and rich valuations pointing to a sense of complacency.
At 12:07 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 87.49 points, or 0.20%, to 44,998.75, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab lost 18.18 points, or 0.28%, to 6,450.36 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab lost 101.44 points, or 0.47%, to 21,609.23.
In a mixed day for economic data, a report showed retail sales in July rose as expected, but consumer confidence and factory production numbers indicated tariffs were taking a toll on other pockets of the economy.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee was also cautionary in his remarks.
Trump has said he will unveil tariffs on steel and semiconductors next week.
Among other stocks on the move, Applied Materials (AMAT.O), opens new tab tumbled 13.3% after the chip equipment maker issued weak fourth-quarter forecasts.
Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab rose 5.8% after a report said the Trump administration was in talks for the U.S. government to potentially take a stake in the chipmaker.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.26-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 62 new lows.
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