04:21 PM EDT, 08/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were mixed on Friday as the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin started in Alaska with the Dow Jones Industrial Average approaching a closing record high, boosted by a jump in UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ).

* Ahead of the talks on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, investors moved into assets likely to gain from a ceasefire or the easing of Russian sanctions, with Ukrainian bonds rising alongside shares of companies linked to Ukraine's reconstruction and European banks active in Russia, Bloomberg reported.

* The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 58.6 in August from 61.7 in July, surprising analysts anticipating an increase to 62, according to a Bloomberg survey. Consumers' one-year inflation expectations rose to 4.9% from 4.5%, and the five-year outlook increased to 3.9% from 3.4%.

* US retail sales increased by 0.5% in July from the previous month, following a revised 0.9% gain in June, data from the Census Bureau showed. The result fell short of the consensus for a 0.6% gain in a Bloomberg survey. Year over year, sales were up 3.9%, easing from a 4.4% increase in June.

* September West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.90 to settle at $63.06 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.76 to $66.08.

* UnitedHealth ( UNH ) rose 12%, the biggest gain on the Dow and the S&P 500, after a regulatory filing showed that Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) (BRK.A, BRK.B) acquired more than 5 million shares of the company in Q2.

* Applied Materials ( AMAT ) shares fell 14% after the company issued fiscal Q4 guidance that fell short of market expectations. BofA Securities downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, and other analysts cut their price targets.