Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting between profits and losses Thursday as UnitedHealth Group stocks plummeted towards its worst drop in more than a quarter century, with the rest of the US stock market rising.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% on the last day of trading in the week that was reduced to holidays. The Dow Jones industrial average was 445 points (1.1%) as of 11:40am Eastern time, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% lower.
UnitedHealth is the heaviest force on the market, with its inventory falling 22.6% on its worst day since 1998.
The healthcare giant reported earnings and revenue for the recent quarter, which did not meet analyst expectations, and also significantly reduced forecasts for this year’s financial results. I was surprised at how careful the Medicare advantage customers get from doctors and outpatient services. This exceeded the company’s expectations.
Another well-known stock, Nvidia, has been dragged into the market after it sunk for the second day in a row after disclosure that new export restrictions on chips to China could hurt first-quarter results by $5.5 billion. It was 3.5% sank and the second loudest weight on the S&P 500.
But nonetheless, Wall Street’s broad stocks were up, including more than four in five within the S&P 500 index. Technology stocks remained stable after the previous day’s sale after the global heavyweight Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer reported latest quarter profits that met analysts’ expectations.
Perhaps more importantly, as other companies have suggested, he said he has not seen a decline in activity from his clients due to President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Still, the company known as TSMC was cautious. “We have not seen any change in customer behavior so far, but there is uncertainty and risk from the potential impacts of tariff policy,” said Chief Financial Officer Wendell Fan. TSMC’s shares traded in the US increased 0.7%.
Eli Lilly was another winner after reporting the encouraged results of one-day pills that would help treat people with obesity and diabetes. That inventory rose 14.7%.
ExxonMobil rose 3.4%, while ConocoPhillips won 4% as oil prices rose to recover some of this month’s sharp losses amid fears that the trade war could hurt the world economy.
There remains uncertainty about the tariffs Trump said he would take manufacturing jobs back to the US and cut more imports than exports. Economists are concerned that if tariffs are fully implemented and left for a while, it could cause a recession.
Trump on Thursday provided an encouraged signal that negotiations with other countries could lead to lower tariffs.
“We had a very productive call with the President of Mexico yesterday,” Trump told the Truth Social Network. “I likewise met with the highest level Japanese trade representatives. It was a very productive meeting. Every country, including China, wants to meet!”
But uncertainty about what will happen in Trump’s unduly tariff developments could in itself undermine the economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell helped send Wednesday’s lower shares when he said again that Trump’s tariffs appeared to be greater than central banks expected.
It can get back in touch due to the dilemma. It could cut interest rates to help the economy, but it could also increase inflation. There is no good tool to fix both at the same time. Powell said Wednesday again that he will wait to see how more terms work before moving forward with interest rates.
Trump criticized the stance on Thursday, saying the Fed was “always too late and wrong.” He also said, “Powell’s ending can’t come quickly enough!”
It could surprise Wall Street. The independent Fed can act without any influence from the White House, is one of the main reasons why the US has long enjoyed its position as a safe place to invest. History suggests that central banks with more autonomy tend to have an economy with lower, more stable inflation.
Research also suggests that Trump’s past attacks on the Fed in favour of lower interest rates have fueled financial market expectations for lower interest rates, which may have had some impact on the Fed. However, this time it’s not like the first period of Trump, where inflation is low.
“This low-cost demand could backfire if the market perceives it’s not too committed to low and stable inflation going forward,” said Francesco Bianchi, a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University.
In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.32% from 4.29% in the second half of Wednesday. Following last week’s horrific rise, much of this week has been eased. Last week’s sudden climb raised concerns that Trump’s trade war could potentially lead investors around the world to lose faith in the world’s safest US investment.
Thursday morning’s report was mixed in the US economy. One economist said fewer US workers apply for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected with the latest signal that the job market remains relatively robust. However, another report said manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly reversed to contraction from growth.
In the overseas stock markets, the index slipped 0.6% in France and 0.5% in Germany. The European Central Bank has cut key interest rates. This often leads to a rise in stock prices. But investors around the world have already been hoping for this move for a while.
In Asia, the index was stronger. Stocks rose 1.6% in Hong Kong and 1.3% in Japan. Trump joined Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent and Commerce Howard Lutnick in consultation with a Japanese delegation on Wednesday in Washington.
AP business writers Eurikeyama and Matt Ott contributed.
Original issue: April 17, 2025, 7:44am EDT
