US equity indexes were mixed in midday trading on Thursday after wholesale price inflation unexpectedly eased.

The Nasdaq Composite was little changed at 19,143.62, paring earlier losses. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 5,902.4, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% to 42,231.35. Among sectors, consumer staples and utilities led gainers, and consumer discretionary and energy posted the lone declines.

In economic news, US producer prices fell 0.5% in April, following a revised flat reading in March and versus market expectations of a 0.2% increase, according to a report from Trading Economics. The decline was the first since October 2023 and the sharpest since April 2020 in the early aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.

US Treasury yields fell with the 10-year slumping 5.9 basis points to 4.47% and the two-year rate down by 6.7 basis points to 3.99%.

Retail sales rose 0.1% in April following an upwardly revised 1.7% gain in March, data from the Census Bureau showed. The consensus compiled by Bloomberg was for no change. Spending at gasoline stations fell 0.5% from a month earlier, while spending on motor vehicles and parts fell 0.1% after a 5.5% surge in March.

US initial jobless claims last week held steady at 229,000, compared with expectations for 228,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

In company news, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) responded Wednesday to a Wall Street Journal report about a US Department of Justice criminal investigation linked to the company's Medicare Advantage program. The company said it has not received any notification from the DOJ and described the WSJ report, without official attribution, as "deeply irresponsible."

Shares of the pharmaceutical company slumped 14% intraday, the steepest decline on the S&P and the Dow.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 3% to $61.35 a barrel.