Stocks close mixed; Health care companies sink
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are ending mixed as traders consider the outlook for interest rates, the latest sanctions against Russia and volatile energy prices.
Health care stocks, the year’s biggest gainers, fell back.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 17,049 Thursday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose a point, less than 0.1 percent, to 1,997. The Nasdaq composite rose five points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,591.
Lululemon jumped 14 percent after the troubled yoga-gear retailer reported earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.
Traders are looking ahead to a Federal Reserve meeting next week and wondering when interest rates will rise.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.55 percent.