Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.28%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.35%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.05%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (N:MRK), which rose 0.76% or 0.42 points to trade at 55.53 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Company (N:BA) added 0.69% or 1.01 points to end at 148.19 and Visa Inc (N:V) was up 0.58% or 0.45 points to 78.35 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), which fell 2.57% or 3.02 points to trade at 114.64 at the close. Walt Disney Company (N:DIS) declined 1.98% or 2.29 points to end at 113.25 and Pfizer Inc (N:PFE) was down 1.59% or 0.55 points to 34.14.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Range Resources Corporation (N:RRC) which rose 9.97% to 34.08, Michael Kors Holdings Limited (N:KORS) which was up 8.27% to settle at 42.57 and NRG Energy Inc (N:NRG) which gained 4.45% to close at 14.08.
The worst performers were Motorola Solutions Inc (N:MSI) which was down 8.58% to 65.24 in late trade, Mosaic Company (N:MOS) which lost 8.57% to settle at 33.38 and Keurig Green Mountain Inc (O:GMCR) which was down 7.24% to 50.87 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Lincoln Educational Services (O:LINC) which rose 46.54% to 1.32, Genetic Technologies Ltd (O:GENE) which was up 37.91% to settle at 2.910 and Energy Focu (O:EFOI) which gained 36.99% to close at 20.00.
The worst performers were Enphase Energy Inc (O:ENPH) which was down 37.37% to 2.330 in late trade, ReachLocal Inc (O:RLOC) which lost 31.51% to settle at 1.06 and FARO Technologies Inc (O:FARO) which was down 30.95% to 24.34 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1571 to 949 and 6 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1275 rose and 1226 declined, while 54 ended unchanged.
Shares in Enphase Energy Inc (O:ENPH) fell to 52-week lows; losing 37.37% or 1.390 to 2.330. Shares in ReachLocal Inc (O:RLOC) fell to all time lows; falling 31.51% or 0.49 to 1.06. Shares in FARO Technologies Inc (O:FARO) fell to 5-year lows; falling 30.95% or 10.91 to 24.34.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 6.12% to 15.43.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.60% or 6.70 to $1107.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 2.87% or 1.38 to hit $46.52 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract fell 3.48% or 1.76 to trade at $48.78 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.92% to 1.0863, while USD/JPY rose 0.40% to 121.55.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.77% at 97.99.