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Markets Right Now: US stocks edge mostly higher at midday

NEW YORK (AP) - The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):

11:45 a.m.

Stocks are edging mostly higher in midday trading as gains for health care and energy stocks outweigh losses in technology and consumer-focused companies.

Pfizer rose 2.1 percent Thursday, while Disney and Facebook each dropped 1 percent.

Energy companies rose as the price of U.S. crude oil rose to $50 for the first time in a month. Haliburton increased 1.2 percent.

Stock indexes closed at record highs the last two days.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,496.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,177, thanks to a gain in Boeing.

The Nasdaq composite fell 15 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,445.

More stocks rose than fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

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9:35 a.m.

U.S. stocks are slipping, with technology and health care companies taking some of the biggest losses.

Prescription drug distributor AmerisourceBergen dropped 3.1 percent Thursday and McKesson fell 2.8 percent.

Facebook gave up 1.3 percent. Chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor fell 2.7 percent after the U.S. government blocked a Chinese government-financed firm from buying it, citing national security grounds.

Energy companies rose as the price of U.S. crude oil rose to $50 for the first time in a month.

Stock indexes closed at record highs the last two days.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index sank 6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,491.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,145. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 33 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,426.

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