The major US stock indexes finished trading near zero, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing 23,000 for the first time, thanks to a more than 6 percent increase in UnitedHealth (UNH) shares and a more than 3 percent increase in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ ).

Certain support for the market was also provided by favorable data for the United States. The Bureau of Employment Accounting reported that in September, import prices in the US rose by 0.7 percent, which is the largest monthly increase since the increase of 0.7 percent in June 2016. Last time, import prices increased by more than 0.7 percent in May 2016 (then growth was 1.2 percent). Higher prices for imports of both fuel and non-fuel materials contributed to a general increase in import prices for September. Import prices in the US also increased on a 12-month basis, reaching 2.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the Fed said that industrial production in the US rose in September, as the effects of hurricanes Harvey and Irma began to disappear, and construction and utility production were restored. Industrial production increased by 0.3% after it decreased by 0.7% in August (revised from -0.9%.) Nevertheless, the July release was revised to -0.1% from +0.4 The economists predicted that in September industrial production will grow by 0.3%, while the total production growth increased by 0.2 percentage points to 76.0% from the revised 75.8% in August.

At the same time, the confidence of builders in the market of newly built houses for one family increased by four points to 68 in October, according to the housing market index (HMI) from the National Association of House Builders (NAHB) / Wells Fargo. This was the highest rate since May.

Most components of the DOW index finished trading in the red (17 of 30). Outsider were the shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS, -2.69%). The leader of growth was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH, + 6.06%).

Most sectors of the S & P index recorded a decline. The largest decrease was shown in the financial sector (-0.4%). The healthcare sector grew most (+ 0.9%).

At closing:

DJIA + 0.17% 22,996.69 +39.73

Nasdaq -0.01% 6,623.66 -0.35

S & P + 0.07% 2.559.35 +1.71