Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.02%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.07%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.12%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 0.96% or 1.21 points to trade at 126.82 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 0.69% or 0.86 points to end at 125.86 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 0.64% or 0.64 points to 100.42 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which fell 1.37% or 1.31 points to trade at 94.24 at the close. EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) declined 0.72% or 0.43 points to end at 59.00 and Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) was down 0.58% or 0.86 points to 146.89.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Macy`s Inc (NYSE:M) which rose 7.91% to 72.01, Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) which was up 6.95% to settle at 131.39 and US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) which gained 3.76% to close at 45.53.
The worst performers were Ensco PLC (NYSE:ESV) which was down 5.57% to 20.01 in late trade, CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX) which lost 5.49% to settle at 18.93 and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE:DO) which was down 4.99% to 23.99 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were BG Medicine Inc (NASDAQ:BGMD) which rose 59.09% to 2.450, Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHIP) which was up 24.32% to settle at 1.070 and Ohr Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:OHRP) which gained 26.61% to close at 4.14.
The worst performers were Code Rebel Corp (NASDAQ:CDRB) which was down 14.77% to 19.51 in late trade, Vital Thera (NASDAQ:VTL) which lost 13.52% to settle at 23.10 and Marten Transport Ltd (NASDAQ:MRTN) which was down 12.63% to 19.93 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2102 to 988 and 6 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1838 fell and 979 advanced, while 8 ended unchanged.
Shares in Macy`s Inc (NYSE:M) rose to all time highs; gaining 7.91% or 5.28 to 72.01. Shares in Ensco PLC (NYSE:ESV) fell to 5-year lows; falling 5.57% or 1.18 to 20.01. Shares in Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) rose to all time highs; gaining 6.95% or 8.54 to 131.39. Shares in CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX) fell to 5-year lows; down 5.49% or 1.10 to 18.93. Shares in Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE:DO) fell to 5-year lows; down 4.99% or 1.26 to 23.99. Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; gaining 0.69% or 0.86 to 125.86.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.05% to 13.23.
Gold for August delivery was down 0.49% or 5.60 to $1147.90 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.05% or 0.03 to hit $51.66 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.03% or 0.01 to trade at $57.41 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.56% to 1.0947, while USD/JPY rose 0.30% to 123.77.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.50% at 97.28.