(Updates with index/price moves and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes traded mixed as a sell-off in chipmakers pushed technology sharply lower, while UnitedHealth's (UNH) strong Q2 results helped lift the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The Nasdaq declined 0.8% to 26,063.2, and the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 7,557.6 after midday Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the intraday trend, up 0.2% to 52,769.1.
Consumer staples, healthcare, and real estate topped the gainers, while technology slumped, down 1.8% intraday.
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) retreated 2.6% after the firm earmarked an additional $100 billion to increase its chipmaking capacity in the US, raising its total planned investment to $265 billion, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing a US official. Taiwan Semiconductor also reported Q2 results on Thursday, with year-over-year earnings and net revenue rising and Q3 sales guidance beating consensus.
Among stocks with market capitalization exceeding $200 billion each, 15 out of the bottom 20 names were from the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Half of the decliners were semiconductor firms, the data showed. The worst performer was SanDisk (SNDK), down 9.5%.
In company news, UnitedHealth's shares jumped 3.5%, making it one of the Dow's top gainers, after the company posted higher Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue and raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook.
In geopolitical news, Iran has asked Yemen's Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the US strikes Iranian power infrastructure, Reuters reported, citing three sources.
The front-month US West Texas Intermediate was little changed at $79.61 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent was steady at $84.96 a barrel. Both crude oil types traded lower earlier in the session.
Most US Treasury yields rose after midday, with the 10-year up 2.8 basis points to 4.57%.