US benchmark equity indexes are on track to close mixed on Thursday as investors weigh President Donald Trump's latest comments on lowering interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1% to 39,244.96, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.02% to 16,311.05. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% to 5,296.64. Energy sector posted the biggest gain, while technology and healthcare saw the steepest declines.

Eli Lilly (LLY) was the top gainer on the S&P 500 with shares up 15%. The company said its investigational obesity pill helped diabetes patients achieve glucose control and weight loss.

Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) shares jumped 9.2%. Global Payments (GPN) plans to buy Worldpay from GTCR and Fidelity for $24.25 billion of cash and stock and sell its Issuer Solutions business to Fidelity at an enterprise value of $13.5 billion.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares slumped nearly 23%, the worst performer on the S&P 500. The company slashed its full-year earnings outlook after its first-quarter results fell short of market estimates.

The 10-year US Treasury yield gained 4.8 basis points to 4.3%, while the two-year rate was up 2.5 basis points to 3.8%.

May West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 3.1% to $64.38 a barrel.