Mixed Close on Wall Street

The Dow Jones rose 0.65 percent to 42,322.75 points, while the S&P 500 was up 0.41 percent to 5,916.93 points. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.18 percent to 19,112.32 points.

Twenty-two of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones index rose. Health insurer United Healthcare fell by a huge 10.99 percent. This is related to the US Department of Justice's investigation into potential irregularities in benefits under the government's Medicare program. The stock fell to its lowest level in five years. The leader of the increases in the index was Cisco (+4.85 percent). The company published a new forecast, which shows that it will achieve higher annual profits than it had previously predicted.

Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors ended the session higher. The index is currently about 3.7 percent below its last record close from February 19 of this year.

A number of U.S. economic data releases on Thursday were mixed. A positive surprise came from much lower-than-expected core inflation and slightly higher retail sales, while industrial production was a negative surprise.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell nine basis points to 4.44%, while the yield on the two-year note, which better reflects expectations for future Fed action, fell eight basis points to 3.97%. Analysts are forecasting that interest rate cuts could resume in September. Spot gold rose 1.5% to $3,224.54 an ounce, while WTI crude futures, which are set to remain in the balance as the U.S. and Iran negotiate a nuclear deal, fell 2.1% to $61.80 a barrel.