The blue-chip index Dow Jones hit a record high on Friday as UnitedHealth jumped after Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in the health insurer and on hopes of an Fed interest rate cut in September.
At 10:11 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 99.11 points, or 0.22%, to 45,011.45, the S&P 500 lost 7.39 points, or 0.11%, to 6,461.15 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 30.70 points, or 0.14%, to 21,681.10.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 248.7 points, or 0.55%, to 45,159.91. The S&P 500 rose 8.8 points, or 0.14%, to 6,477.38​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3 points, or 0.01%, to 21,709.336.
Market participants were hoping that the Federal Reserve could resume its monetary policy easing cycle from the next month.
GAINERS AND LOSERS
UnitedHealth Group shares soared 11.6% after Warren Buffett’s company disclosed a new investment in the company.
Other insurance stocks Centene and Molina surged 5.2% each.
BULLION
Gold prices inched up on Friday, as the US dollar eased and as market focus shifted to upcoming talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
By 9:01 AM EDT (1301 GMT), spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,343.83 per ounce. US gold futures edged up 0.2% at $3,390.80.
Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.4% to $37.85 per ounce. Platinum lost 1% to $1,344.14, and palladium fell 2.3% to $1,119.37.
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