The New York stock exchange's leading index went in different directions on the last trading day before the Easter weekend. The broad S&P index rose 0.1 percent, the Dow Jones industrial index fell 1.3 percent, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 1.1 percent.
Insurance giant United Health fell sharply after its interim report, where the company reported profit and revenue figures that did not meet analysts' expectations. Moreover, the company wrote down its profit forecast for the rest of the year. The stock plummeted over 22 percent – the worst decline on a single day since 1998.
S&P has now fallen 10.2 percent since the turn of the year. Over the past five trading days, the index rose 0.3 percent, while Dow Jones and Nasdaq lost 1.1 and 0.6 percent, respectively, during the same period.
