The Dow Jones Industrial Average regained 49.44 points to open Friday at 38,160.92, buoyed by UnitedHealth’s advance of more than 2%.
The S&P 500 slid 21.8 points to 5,213.68.
The NASDAQ ditched 171.41 points, or 1%, to 16,559.96, as Nvidia and other megacap technology stocks took a hit.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were each on pace to snap five-week win streaks with slides of more than 1%. The Dow slipped more than 2%, heading for a second straight week of losses.
Despite those moves, it’s shaping up to be a winning May, with each of the major benchmarks set to register a sixth positive month in seven. The Dow is up 0.9% this month, while the S&P 500 is higher by almost 3.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has gained about nearly 6%.
A chunk of May’s gains can be attributed to a surge in Nvidia, which released blockbuster earnings last week. Though the artificial intelligence darling’s stock fell around 1% on Friday, shares are poised to end the month nearly 27% higher. Tesla, Microsoft, Meta and Netflix also dipped more than 1% on Friday, weighing down the broader market.
The core personal consumption expenditures price index increased 0.2% in April, in line with the consensus forecast of economists polled by Dow Jones, according to data released Friday. Core PCE rose 2.8% on an annualized basis, slightly above the 2.7% prediction from economists.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.49% from Thursday’s 4.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 38 cents to $77.53 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked $7.40 to $2,359.10.