Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Basic Materials, Oil & Gas and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.31%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.20%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.08%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which rose 1.12% or 0.36 points to trade at 32.62 at the close. Meanwhile, Visa Inc (NYSE:V) added 1.00% or 0.70 points to end at 70.95 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 0.81% or 0.92 points to 114.32 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 2.06% or 1.48 points to trade at 70.20 at the close. Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) declined 1.73% or 2.32 points to end at 131.67 and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) was down 1.46% or 1.13 points to 76.12.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) which rose 4.90% to 98.98, Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) which was up 3.43% to settle at 51.50 and AutoZone Inc (NYSE:AZO) which gained 2.50% to close at 746.23.
The worst performers were CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX) which was down 8.63% to 11.01 in late trade, CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which lost 6.58% to settle at 47.74 and Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which was down 6.07% to 13.31 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Abengoa SA (NASDAQ:ABGB) which rose 25.06% to 5.39, Methes Energies International Ltd (NASDAQ:MEIL) which was up 24.97% to settle at 0.500 and Concert Pha (NASDAQ:CNCE) which gained 23.14% to close at 22.46.
The worst performers were PhotoMedex Inc (NASDAQ:PHMD) which was down 34.67% to 0.52 in late trade, TigerLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:TIGR) which lost 27.80% to settle at 0.260 and Daegis Inc (NASDAQ:DAEG) which was down 26.23% to 0.450 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1596 to 946 and 2 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1442 fell and 1139 advanced, while 33 ended unchanged.
Shares in CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX) fell to 5-year lows; falling 8.63% or 1.04 to 11.01. Shares in CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) fell to 52-week lows; losing 6.58% or 3.36 to 47.74. Shares in Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) fell to 5-year lows; down 6.07% or 0.86 to 13.31. Shares in Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) fell to 5-year lows; down 2.06% or 1.48 to 70.20. Shares in PhotoMedex Inc (NASDAQ:PHMD) fell to all time lows; losing 34.67% or 0.28 to 0.52. Shares in TigerLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:TIGR) fell to 5-year lows; losing 27.80% or 0.100 to 0.260. Shares in Concert Pha (NASDAQ:CNCE) rose to all time highs; rising 23.14% or 4.22 to 22.46.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.96% to 22.00.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.44% or 4.90 to $1129.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 3.56% or 1.65 to hit $44.71 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 2.57% or 1.26 to trade at $47.82 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.47% to 1.1180, while USD/JPY rose 0.09% to 120.26.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.10% at 96.40.