Market Overview - The New York stock market indices opened lower but turned positive by midday, with all three major indices closing higher on May 19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 137.33 points to 42792.07, a gain of 0.32%. The S&P 500 increased by 5.22 points to 5963.6, up 0.09%. The Nasdaq Composite added 4.36 points to 19215.46, a rise of 0.02% [1]. Sector Performance - Among the eleven sectors in the S&P 500, seven saw gains while four experienced declines. The healthcare and consumer staples sectors led the gains with increases of 0.96% and 0.42%, respectively. Conversely, the energy and consumer discretionary sectors lagged, declining by 1.55% and 0.27% [1]. Credit Rating Impact - Moody's downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating from Aaa to Aa1 due to increased government debt and interest expenditures, changing the outlook from "negative" to "stable." Analysts noted that the report did not reveal any new information about the U.S. fiscal situation [1][2]. Economic Indicators - The Conference Board reported a 1% month-over-month decline in the U.S. leading economic index for April, which was worse than the market expectation of -0.8% [2]. Retail Sector Insights - UBS analyst Jay Sole highlighted a 4.8% year-over-year decrease in the number of stores selling soft goods like clothing and bedding in March, compared to a 2.7% decline in December. However, discount retailers like TJX Cos. and Burlington saw an increase of over 4% in store numbers during the first quarter [2]. Stock Recommendations - Sole rated the stocks of TJX Cos. and Burlington as "buy" due to their performance in the discount retail sector [3]. Individual Stock Performance - UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest health insurance company in the U.S., continued its upward trend, rising by 8.21% to close at $315.89 per share [3].