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Stocks mixed in morning trading; Square soars in IPO

The facade of the New York Stock Exchange is decorated for the Square IPO, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. Mobile payments processor Square had to sell its stock at a deep discount to complete its initial public offering, a concession signaling that investors are becoming wary of once-hot startups that haven't proven they can make money. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The facade of the New York Stock Exchange is decorated for the Square IPO, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. Mobile payments processor Square had to sell its stock at a deep discount to complete its initial public offering, a concession signaling that investors are becoming wary of once-hot startups that haven't proven they can make money. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The facade of the New York Stock Exchange is decorated for the Square IPO, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. Mobile payments processor Square had to sell its stock at a deep discount to complete its initial public offering, a concession signaling that investors are becoming wary of once-hot startups that haven't proven they can make money. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

By Associated Press 3 min read

U.S. stocks drifted between small gains and losses in morning trading Thursday as traders sized up the latest batch of corporate earnings and outlooks. Health care stocks were among the biggest decliners after UnitedHealth Group cut its earnings forecast. Payments company Square soared in its market debut.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose two points to 17,739 as of 11:16 a.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped a point, less than 0.1 percent, to 2,083. The Nasdaq composite added seven points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,082. The market is coming off its biggest gain in four weeks.

SECTOR VIEW: Eight of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index rose, with technology stocks leading the gainers. Health care slumped the most.

BAD MEDICINE: UnitedHealth Group fell 4.2 percent after the nation’s largest health insurer cut its 2015 earnings forecast. The company also said it would pull back on the marketing of its exchange business a few weeks after open enrollment for that coverage began nationwide. It also said that it will decide in the first half of next year to what extent it can continue to serve the public health insurance exchange markets in 2017. The stock slid $4.89 to $112.36. Tenet Healthcare also slumped, sliding $2.56, or 7.8 percent, to $30.49.

HOLIDAY JITTERS: Best Buy dropped 4.9 percent after the big electronics retailer reported weak quarterly sales and a cautious outlook for the holiday shopping season. The stock lost $1.53 to $29.80.