Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Healthcare, Consumer Services and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.18%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.14%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.11%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which rose 0.74% or 0.23 points to trade at 31.29 at the close. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) added 0.72% or 0.63 points to end at 87.94 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 0.57% or 0.67 points to 117.78 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 1.82% or 2.54 points to trade at 137.33 at the close. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) declined 1.61% or 0.97 points to end at 59.25 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) was down 1.40% or 1.01 points to 71.22.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Tiffany & Co (NYSE:TIF) which rose 6.33% to 73.23, WestRock Co (NYSE:WRK) which was up 5.82% to settle at 47.06 and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which gained 4.45% to close at 16.20.
The worst performers were Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) which was down 17.77% to 75.48 in late trade, Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) which lost 12.51% to settle at 83.55 and Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) which was down 9.93% to 85.50 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Xtera Communications Inc (NASDAQ:XCOM) which rose 59.26% to 0.860, AEP Industries Inc (NASDAQ:AEPI) which was up 44.29% to settle at 111.06 and Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VNDA) which gained 20.60% to close at 14.17.
The worst performers were xG Technology Inc (NASDAQ:XGTI) which was down 22.34% to 0.4349 in late trade, Professional Diversity Network Inc (NASDAQ:IPDN) which lost 13.22% to settle at 0.7203 and Interpace Diagnostics Group Inc (NASDAQ:IDXG) which was down 12.09% to 0.2800 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1691 to 1431 and 122 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1280 rose and 1198 declined, while 140 ended unchanged.
Shares in Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 0.74% or 0.23 to 31.29. Shares in Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose to 52-week highs; rising 0.72% or 0.63 to 87.94. Shares in AEP Industries Inc (NASDAQ:AEPI) rose to all time highs; up 44.29% or 34.09 to 111.06.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 1.41% to 13.64 a new 1-month high.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.32% or 4.25 to $1325.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.20% or 0.56 to hit $47.33 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 1.22% or 0.60 to trade at $49.65 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.14% to 1.1280, while USD/JPY rose 0.11% to 100.56.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.01% at 94.72.