04:53 PM EDT, 05/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity benchmarks closed mostly higher following choppy Monday trading as markets digested a Moody's downgrade of the government's credit ratings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3% to 42,792.1. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,963.6, closing higher for a sixth consecutive session. The Nasdaq Composite ended little changed at 19,215.5. Among sectors, health care led advancers with a 1% gain, while energy saw the biggest drop of 1.6%.

On Friday, Moody's lowered the world's largest economy's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to Aa1 from Aaa, citing a sustained increase in debt and interest payment ratios. Moody's revised its outlook on the US to stable from negative.

"Large fiscal deficits will drive the government's debt and interest burden higher," Moody's said. "The US' fiscal performance is likely to deteriorate relative to its own past and compared to other highly-rated sovereigns."

US Treasury yields retreated. The 10-year rate was down 3.3 basis points to 4.45%, while the the 30-year rate dipped 4.5 basis points to 4.91%. Earlier in the day, the 10-year rate reached its highest level since February, at 4.56%, while the 30-year yield rose above the 5% mark, its highest point since October 2023, Stifel said in a note.

Wells Fargo Investment Institute said the downgrade may weigh on global confidence in US Treasuries.

"While demand for Treasuries is likely to remain strong, in our view, reduced foreign appetite -- already evident following President Donald Trump's tariff announcements -- could exacerbate fiscal pressures," according to the WFII report.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he prefers only one rate cut in 2025 for now, CNBC reported. Bostic reportedly said that tariffs have been larger than the Fed anticipated at the start of the year.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.3% at $62.68 a barrel.

S&P 500 companies' latest quarterly results showed that earnings and sales growth slowed compared with data from about a week ago, according to Oppenheimer Asset Management's report. Some 92% of the companies in the benchmark equity index have reported results in the latest cycle, with earnings up 11.9% from a year earlier on 4.1% revenue growth. The brokerage's report released last Monday showed 12.3% growth in bottom-line and 4.2% increase in top-line, based on financials reported by 90% of companies.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) was the best performer on the Dow and the S&P 500, up 8.2%.

Truist Securities cut its price target on the company's stock to $360 from $580, while reiterating its buy recommendation. Last week, UnitedHealth ( UNH ) withdrew its full-year outlook amid higher-than-expected medical costs. At the time, the health insurance giant named Stephen Hemsley as its new chief executive, succeeding Andrew Witty.

TXNM Energy ( TXNM ) agreed to be acquired by Blackstone's (BX) infrastructure arm in a deal with a total enterprise value of about $11.5 billion, including debt and stock. TXNM shares jumped 7%, while Blackstone fell 0.9%.

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) agreed to sell ZT Systems' data center infrastructure manufacturing business to Sanmina ( SANM ) in a cash-and-stock deal that makes the US-based contract manufacturer a preferred partner of AMD for building artificial intelligence solutions. AMD shares were down 2.1%, while Sanmina ( SANM ) dropped 3.8%.

Novavax ( NVAX ) rose 15%. The company said it received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine.

Gold was up 1.4% at $3,232.90 per troy ounce, while silver gained 0.5% to $32.51 per ounce.