Mubasher: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq showed upward performance on Thursday, 17 April, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined on the final trading day of the week, according to Reuters.

Ahead of the Good Friday holiday on 18 April, during which US stock markets will be closed, there was focus on US-Japan tariff talks.

Meanwhile, the markets witnessed a slump in UnitedHealth's shares following a forecast cut by the insurer that weighed on the Dow.

UnitedHealth opens new tab plummeted 17.2% after lowering its annual profit forecast on expectations of high medical costs for the rest of 2025.

Other health insurers slumped, with CVS Health opens new tab down 6.1% and Humana opens new tab falling 6.4%.

At 09:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opens new tab fell 517.74 points, or 1.31%, to 39,151.65.

The S&P 500 opens new tab gained 9.48 points, or 0.18%, to 5,285.18.

In addition, the Nasdaq Composite opens new tab gained 17.33 points, or 0.09%, to 16,324.63.

Healthcare shares opens new tab led sectoral declines, but losses were limited by a 13% gain in Eli Lilly opens new tab.

The CBOE Volatility index opens new tab was down from last week's highs, but sharply above its 50-day moving average. It was last down 1.22 points to 31.42.

"We don't know how far Trump will let the market fall to achieve his endgame, until we have some clarity I would expect markets to continue to be very choppy," Reuters cited Ross Bramwell, market strategist at Homrich Berg.

Ahead of the long weekend, all three major Wall Street indexes are on track for weekly losses, with the S&P 500 opens new tab on pace to lose about 1.6% after its best week since November 2023.

Upbeat results from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) opens new tab helped ease some gloom for the chip sector, after Nvidia opens new tab flagged steep costs from new U.S. export curbs. TSMC's US-listed shares gained 2.5%.

Netflix opens new tab is scheduled to report results after the closing bell.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2.58-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.88-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week high and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded nine new highs and 39 new lows.