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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 to mid-afternoon trading)

By Noel Randewich and Pranav Kashyap

May 15 (Reuters) -

U.S. stocks were 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 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 almost 6% after the networking company

raised its annual forecast, driven by the artificial

intelligence boom.

AI chipmaker Broadcom ( AVGO ) added about 0.5%.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) plunged 13% 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 insurer Humana lost about 3% and Molina

Healthcare ( MOH ) dipped 1%.

Walmart ( WMT ) eased 1% 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 2.6% 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.

The S&P 500 was up 0.34% at 5,912.79 points.

The Nasdaq declined 0.02% to 19,142.20 points, while the Dow

Jones Industrial Average was up 0.41% at 42,222.44 points.

Following its recent rebound, the S&P 500 remains about 4%

below its record high close on February 19.

The S&P 500 energy sector index dipped 0.4% as oil

prices slid around 3% on expectations of a U.S.-Iran nuclear

deal that could result in sanctions easing.

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.

"Despite the de-escalation with China, the trade story isn't

over and it's still going to take time for tariffs to make

themselves felt in economic data," said Ellen Zentner, chief

economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500

by a 2.1-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new highs and six new lows. The Nasdaq

recorded 44 new highs and 104 new lows.