Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Healthcare, Industrials and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.25%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.23%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 0.98% or 0.51 points to trade at 52.30 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) added 0.70% or 1.09 points to end at 157.48 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 0.35% or 0.26 points to 75.32 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 1.77% or 1.07 points to trade at 59.43 at the close. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) declined 1.37% or 0.45 points to end at 32.40 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) was down 0.81% or 0.58 points to 71.24.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which rose 5.78% to 10.98, Monster Beverage 1990 Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) which was up 4.20% to settle at 45.37 and Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) which gained 3.14% to close at 58.50.
The worst performers were TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) which was down 5.14% to 46.28 in late trade, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which lost 5.02% to settle at 72.60 and Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) which was down 5.00% to 117.90 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sphere 3D Corp (NASDAQ:ANY) which rose 80.00% to 0.360, Lpath Inc (NASDAQ:LPTN) which was up 68.02% to settle at 3.7500 and Real Goods Solar Inc (NASDAQ:RGSE) which gained 62.29% to close at 0.3499.
The worst performers were xG Technology Inc (NASDAQ:XGTI) which was down 55.80% to 1.6000 in late trade, Modsys International Ltd (NASDAQ:MDSY) which lost 20.31% to settle at 0.965 and Contravir Pharmaceut (NASDAQ:CTRV) which was down 20.12% to 1.3500 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1754 to 1479 and 43 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1564 fell and 947 advanced, while 116 ended unchanged.
Shares in TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) fell to 3-years lows; losing 5.14% or 2.51 to 46.28. Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) fell to 52-week lows; down 5.02% or 3.84 to 72.60. Shares in Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) rose to 52-week highs; up 0.70% or 1.09 to 157.48. Shares in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) rose to 52-week highs; rising 0.35% or 0.26 to 75.32. Shares in Modsys International Ltd (NASDAQ:MDSY) fell to all time lows; falling 20.31% or 0.246 to 0.965.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.66% to 11.26 a new 52-week low.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.11% or 1.20 to $1132.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 1.41% or 0.75 to hit $52.55 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 1.48% or 0.82 to trade at $54.53 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.34% to 1.0424, while USD/JPY fell 0.24% to 117.57.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.22% at 103.03.