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Cisco ( CSCO ) gains after raising FY forecasts

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) down on report it faces criminal probe

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S&P 500 +0.34%, Nasdaq -0.02%, Dow +0.41%

(Updates with market close)

By Noel Randewich and Pranav Kashyap

May 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks ended mixed on

Thursday, with gains in Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) following an upbeat

forecast, while UnitedHealth ( UNH ) tumbled after a report of a

criminal investigation into the insurer.

The S&P 500 this week has further recovered from a deep

selloff in April triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's

global trade war, as investors bet Washington will reach deals

to roll back steep tariffs that economists worry will drive up

consumer prices.

"People think there are going to be deals, so they are just

getting ahead of that, and they don't want to be short stocks.

'Deal anticipation' is what I'd call it," said Dennis Dick, a

trader at Triple D Trading.

Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) jumped after the networking company raised its

annual forecast, driven by the artificial intelligence boom.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) plunged to a five-year low after

the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. Department of Justice

was conducting a criminal investigation into the company for

possible Medicare fraud. UnitedHealth ( UNH ) said it had not been

informed of a criminal probe by federal prosecutors.

Rival health insurers Humana and Molina Healthcare ( MOH )

also declined.

Walmart ( WMT ) eased after the heavyweight retailer warned

it would start raising prices later this month due to tariffs,

even after its first-quarter U.S. comparable sales beat

expectations.

Rival retailer Amazon ( AMZN ) dropped and weighed on the

Nasdaq.

Walmart ( WMT ) declined to provide a second-quarter profit outlook,

joining other companies across sectors that have tweaked or

pulled their forecasts, signaling that corporate America is

hunkering down due to tariff-related uncertainty.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 21.89 points, or 0.37%, to end at 5,917.59 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite lost 35.47 points, or 0.19%,

to 19,111.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 277.87 points, or 0.66%, to 42,328.93.

The S&P 500 remains about 4% below its record high close on

February 19.

Earlier in the day, data showed U.S. retail sales growth

slowed in April, while a separate report showed producer prices

unexpectedly fell last month. That followed a relatively tame

consumer price reading earlier in the week.

"We're still waiting for that inflation pop. It's not here

yet, but we're still waiting," said John Augustine, chief

investment officer of Huntington National Bank.