Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.56%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.54%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.31%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which rose 0.52% or 0.58 points to trade at 112.43 at the close. Meanwhile, Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) added 0.50% or 0.53 points to end at 106.53 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was up 0.09% or 0.08 points to 87.52 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which fell 1.99% or 2.02 points to trade at 99.45 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 1.33% or 0.62 points to end at 46.10 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was down 1.17% or 0.81 points to 68.69.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) which rose 10.86% to 43.37, American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which was up 3.96% to settle at 41.56 and Fiserv Inc (NASDAQ:FISV) which gained 3.12% to close at 85.27.
The worst performers were Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) which was down 6.77% to 76.87 in late trade, CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) which lost 3.74% to settle at 69.27 and Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) which was down 3.49% to 89.04 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were AirMedia Group Inc (NASDAQ:AMCN) which rose 42.61% to 5.02, Arowana Inc (NASDAQ:ARWA) which was up 25.43% to settle at 12.28 and RLJ Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:RLJE) which gained 16.04% to close at 0.340.
The worst performers were Axion Power International Inc (NASDAQ:AXPW) which was down 23.31% to 0.125 in late trade, Jacksonville Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:JAXB) which lost 3.31% to settle at 11.700 and Healthways Inc (NASDAQ:HWAY) which was down 20.15% to 12.40 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2006 to 1127 and 2 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1585 fell and 1269 advanced, while 5 ended unchanged.
Shares in ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) rose to all time highs; gaining 10.86% or 4.25 to 43.37. Shares in Fiserv Inc (NASDAQ:FISV) rose to all time highs; up 3.12% or 2.58 to 85.27. Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose to all time highs; rising 0.50% or 0.53 to 106.53. Shares in Arowana Inc (NASDAQ:ARWA) rose to all time highs; gaining 25.43% or 2.49 to 12.28. Shares in Healthways Inc (NASDAQ:HWAY) fell to 52-week lows; losing 20.15% or 3.13 to 12.40.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 5.91% to 13.97.
Gold for August delivery was down 0.13% or 1.60 to $1200.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 1.72% or 1.04 to hit $59.77 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 2.19% or 1.41 to trade at $62.85 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.11% to 1.1350, while USD/JPY fell 0.22% to 122.69.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.09% at 94.30.