The Dow Jones ended higher, hitting an intraday record high. UnitedHealth’s shares rose almost 12% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake. The broader healthcare sector saw a 1.65% gain, its best weekly performance since October 2022. The Dow lagged behind Wall Street peers due to rising costs and a 40% slump in UnitedHealth’s shares this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.08%, the S&P 500 lost 0.29%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.40%. Wall Street indexes saw their second week of gains, with expectations of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the Fed in September. Recent labor market weakness and signs of tariff-induced inflation have investors anticipating a dovish move next month.

Retail sales in July rose as expected, but consumer confidence and factory production numbers signaled tariffs were impacting other areas of the economy. Eric Teal, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management, noted the recent strong gains and said a pullback was expected. Austan Goolsbee of the Chicago Fed was cautious, and Trump hinted at unveiling tariffs on steel and semiconductors.

Applied Materials tumbled 14% after a weak fourth-quarter forecast, while Bank of America dropped 1.6% as Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake. Intel rose 2.9% amid reports of potential U.S. government investment. Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE and Nasdaq, with light trading volume. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.94%, the Nasdaq rose 0.81%, and the Dow climbed 1.74%.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Dow ends higher after UnitedHealth gains, other indexes slip on rate cut uncertainty