12:26 PM EDT, 08/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were mixed in midday trading prior to the Alaska summit on Friday, while investors weighed retail sales and the University of Michigan's survey data for inflation expectations.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5% to 21,607.3, and the S&P 500 slid 0.3% to 6,450.7, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 44,995.5. The S&P 500 hit a record for the fourth consecutive day, and the Dow scaled a fresh peak earlier in the session for the first time this year. Healthcare was the biggest gainer intraday, while technology and financials led the decliners.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) surged 13% intraday, the top gainer on the Dow, after Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) disclosed in a filing that it purchased over 5 million shares of UnitedHealth ( UNH ) in Q2.

Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska later on Friday to reach a peace deal in the Ukraine-Russia war.

In the run-up to the talks, investors have been piling into assets that could stand to benefit from either a ceasefire in Ukraine or an easing of sanctions on Russia, Bloomberg reported Friday. Ukrainian government bonds have rallied, alongside shares of companies that would benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine and European banks that still have a presence in Russia, the news report said.

Meanwhile, in economic news, US retail sales rose 0.5% in July sequentially following an upwardly revised 0.9% rise in June, according to the Census Bureau. The consensus compiled by Bloomberg called for a 0.6% gain. On an annual basis, retail sales rose 3.9%, marking a slowdown from a 4.4% jump in June.

The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 58.6 in August from 61.7 in July, below expectations for an increase to 62.0 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Respondents saw one-year inflation expectations at 4.9%, up from 4.5% in July, while five-year inflation expectations increased to 3.9% from 3.4%.

Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year yield up 1.1 basis points to 4.3% while the two-year rate was steady at 3.74%.