US benchmark equity indexes closed mostly lower on Thursday, while logging declines in the holiday-shortened trading week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% to 39,142.2, while the Nasdaq Composite eased 0.1% to 16,286.5. The two indexes finished lower for the third day in a row.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 5,282.7 on Thursday. All sectors were in the green, except technology, health and communications services.

US stock markets will be closed April 18 in observance of Good Friday. For the week through Thursday, the Dow dropped 2.7%, the Nasdaq was 2.6% off and the S&P 500 lost 1.5%.

In company news, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares plunged 22%, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Dow, as the health insurance giant slashed its full-year earnings outlook after its first-quarter results fell short of market estimates.

"UnitedHealth Group grew to serve more people more comprehensively but did not perform up to our expectations," Chief Executive Andrew Witty said in a statement. "We are aggressively addressing those challenges to position us well for the years ahead, and return to our long-term earnings growth rate target of 13% to 16%."

Nvidia (NVDA) shares were down 2.9%, the second-steepest decline on the Dow, as UBS and Wolfe Research lowered their respective price targets on the chipmaking giant's stock.

Eli Lilly (LLY) said its investigational obesity pill helped diabetes patients achieve glucose control and weight loss. The pharmaceutical company's shares soared 14%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.

Global Payments (GPN) will buy payments technology company Worldpay for $24.25 billion and sell its issuer solutions business to Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) in deals that are cross-conditioned upon each other. Global Payments shares slumped 17%, while Fidelity National Information Services advance 8.7%.

US Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate increasing 4.8 basis points to 4.33% and the two-year rate adding 2.5 basis points to 3.81%.

Trump said his meeting with Japanese trade representatives and a call with the Mexican president were "productive." He said "every nation" wants to meet him, including China.

In a separate Thursday social media post, Trump once again called on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates. Powell should have lowered rates "long ago," Trump wrote. "He should certainly lower them now. Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

On Wednesday, Powell reiterated that the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs on inflation may not quickly unwind.

"We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension," Powell said at the time, referring to the Fed's goals of gaining maximum employment and stable prices. "If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 3.1% at $64.43 a barrel. "Oil prices climbed to two-week highs after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran, raising supply concerns," D.A. Davidson said in a note to clients.

In economic news, US housing starts fell more than expected in March amid a double-digit percentage decline in the single-family component, government data showed.

Homebuilder confidence remains subdued this month amid elevated trade uncertainty, TD Economics said. "This will likely only add to existing affordability challenges, which combined with an expected slowdown in the economy, will weigh on the homebuilding industry over the coming quarters."

Manufacturing activity in the US Mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly plunged into negative territory this month, falling to the lowest reading since April 2023 as orders and shipments contracted, a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed.

Gold was down 0.7% at $3,324.40 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 1.9% to $32.37 per ounce.