U.S. stock indexes ended marginally lower, weighed down by declines in health-care and energy shares.

The muted moves for major indexes followed the market’s biggest daily rally in nearly a month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 4.41 points, little changed on a percentage basis, to 17732.75. The S&P 500 fell 2.34 points, or 0.1%, to 2081.24. The Nasdaq Composite edged down just 1.56 points to 5073.64.

The S&P 500’s health-care sector dropped 1.6% after UnitedHealth Group told investors it expected major losses from Affordable Care Act exchanges and will consider withdrawing from them. Its shares fell $6.62, or 5.7%, to $110.63.

Insurer Aetna AET 1.04% declined 6.97, or 6.5%, to 99.89, Anthem dropped 9.44, or 6.9%, to 127.86, and Cigna fell 7.31, or 5.4%, to 127.83. Many investors welcomed the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates for the first time in almost a decade, taking it as a sign of confidence in the U.S. economy. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Energy companies dropped as U.S. crude-oil futures slipped 0.5% to $40.54 a barrel, the lowest since Aug. 26. Among oil-company shares, Chevron declined 1.38, or 1.5%, to 90.83 and Exxon Mobil fell 0.44, or 0.5%, to 80.30.

U.S. stocks had rallied Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed that the central bank appeared to be on track to raise interest rates in December.

The positive reaction in equity markets to the Fed minutes contrasts with the selloff that had initially followed the central bank’s decision to keep rates on hold in September as investors’ focus shifts to the pace of interest-rate increases.

“I think the bigger picture is that the market believes that the Fed should begin raising interest rates. Wage pressures are picking up, and it’s the anniversary of the big decline in oil prices. That’s not going to be as much of a weight on inflation anymore,” said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas.

News from the technology sector helped stem losses. Intel raised its dividend, forecasting growth for 2016. The chip maker’s shares rose 1.14, or 3.4% to 34.30.

Square and Match Group soared in their initial trading debuts, up 4.07, or 45%, to 13.07 and up 2.74, or 23%, to 14.74, respectively.

“Pretty much every retail investor on the planet has had experience using Square, and they probably see that it’s widespread, having used it two dozen times,” said Sam Stewart, founder and chairman of Wasatch Advisors and portfolio manager of the Wasatch World Innovators Fund and the Wasatch Strategic Income Fund.

Best Buy shares fell 0.66, or 2.1%, to 30.67, after the electronics retailer reported a sales slowdown at existing stores and warned about a drop in fourth-quarter revenue, adding to investors’ jitters about the coming holiday shopping season.

“When you get on the calls and listen to the companies, they are themselves puzzled, and that’s not encouraging,” said Ed Crotty, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Davidson Investment Advisors. “There’s been a buildup of inventory among retail, and there’s been a lack of foot traffic.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4%. Stocks in Asia also climbed on Thursday after Wall Street rallied into the close on Wednesday. A Chevron site in Pungești, Romania, last year. Energy-company shares were hurt by falling oil prices. Photo: Bogdan Cristel/Reuters

In Europe, stocks are now up 3.1% this week, recovering from a brief initial fall following the terror attacks in Paris on Friday that left at least 129 dead and hundreds injured.

As global investors focused on the Fed in the U.S., European fund managers were also looking at the European Central Bank minutes from its October meeting, which signaled that more easy-money steps may be in the offing there.

ECB President Mario Draghi has signaled that the bank was ready to expand its bond-purchase program to combat weak inflation in the eurozone.

The euro has weakened against the dollar on the prospect of further stimulus from the ECB and a move toward higher rates in the U.S. The euro rose 0.7% to $1.0735 Thursday, but remains down 4% since the start of October.

In Asia on Thursday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.4%, its highest close in a week. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 2.1%.

In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.1%, and the dollar fell 0.6% against the yen to ¥122.87 in late New York trading after the Bank of Japan left its policy unchanged, as expected, but sounded a cautionary note about inflation.

Gold edged up 0.9% to close at $1,078 a troy ounce.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield fell to 2.246%, from 2.269% Wednesday. Prices rise as yields fall.

Today’s Markets

Write to Julie Wernau at email@example.com and Christopher Whittall at firstname.lastname@example.org

Appeared in the November 20, 2015, print edition as 'Health-Care and Energy Stocks Stumble.'

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