US stocks weighed down by Nvidia, UnitedHealth

US equities ended lower on Thursday, weighed down by the negative performance of Nvidia, and UnitedHealth amid trade tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1.33%, or 527 points, to close at 39,142, hurt by UnitedHealth shares, which tumbled 22.37% to $454.11. The company disclosed lower-than-expected quarterly earnings.

On the other hand, the S&P 500 gained 0.13%, to 5,282 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.13%, to 16,286 points.

The Nasdaq Composite was weighed down by Nvidia, which shed 2.93% to $101.43 as the US Administration restricted exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China and other countries.

In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 index fell 0.15% to 506 points amid mixed performance of sectors.

The UK's FTSE 100 index remained unchanged at 8,275 points. Germany’s DAX edged down 0.50% to 21,205 points, with France’s CAC 40 easing 0.6% to 7,285 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index advanced 1.35%, or 457 points, to 34,377 points, while the broader TOPIX index rose nearly 1.3% to 2,530 points.

Oil posted gains of nearly 5% over the week, with Brent crude futures for June delivery rising by 3.2%, or $2.11, to settle at $67.96 per barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery also increased by 3.54%, or $2.21, to $64.68 per barrel.

Meanwhile, although gold futures for June delivery fell by 0.50% to $3,328.40 per ounce, they still recorded a weekly gain of 2.58%.