Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Technology, Consumer Services and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.29%, while the S&P 500 index lost 1.85%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 3.25%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (N:MRK), which rose 1.63% or 0.79 points to trade at 49.38 at the close. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc (N:VZ) added 1.07% or 0.54 points to end at 50.97 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT) was up 0.87% or 0.58 points to 67.00 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (N:NKE), which fell 4.99% or 3.00 points to trade at 57.17 at the close. McDonald`s Corporation (N:MCD) declined 4.36% or 5.26 points to end at 115.40 and Home Depot Inc (N:HD) was down 3.86% or 4.68 points to 116.43.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Tyson Foods Inc (N:TSN) which rose 9.91% to 57.10, Southwestern Energy Company (N:SWN) which was up 5.66% to settle at 9.34 and Estee Lauder Companies Inc (N:EL) which gained 4.57% to close at 90.99.
The worst performers were Hanesbrands Inc (N:HBI) which was down 15.07% to 24.96 in late trade, Salesforce.com Inc (N:CRM) which lost 12.93% to settle at 58.51 and Hess Corporation (N:HES) which was down 12.54% to 38.02 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Tetralogic Phrm (O:TLOG) which rose 39.56% to 0.1986, Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc (O:MFLX) which was up 37.49% to settle at 22.59 and TTM Technologies Inc (O:TTMI) which gained 22.66% to close at 6.55.
The worst performers were Linn Co LLC (O:LNCO) which was down 65.06% to 0.3494 in late trade, Linn Energy LLC (O:LINE) which lost 58.33% to settle at 0.50 and Unted Dev Fnd Iv (O:UDF) which was down 30.59% to 7.08 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2522 to 843 and 31 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2139 fell and 474 advanced, while 37 ended unchanged.
Shares in Tyson Foods Inc (N:TSN) rose to all time highs; up 9.91% or 5.15 to 57.10. Shares in Hanesbrands Inc (N:HBI) fell to 52-week lows; down 15.07% or 4.43 to 24.96. Shares in Verizon Communications Inc (N:VZ) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 1.07% or 0.54 to 50.97. Shares in Linn Co LLC (O:LNCO) fell to all time lows; falling 65.06% or 0.6506 to 0.3494. Shares in Linn Energy LLC (O:LINE) fell to 5-year lows; losing 58.33% or 0.70 to 0.50. Shares in Unted Dev Fnd Iv (O:UDF) fell to all time lows; down 30.59% or 3.12 to 7.08.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 6.55% to 23.27.
Gold for April delivery was up 1.41% or 16.30 to $1173.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 2.25% or 0.71 to hit $31.00 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 1.04% or 0.36 to trade at $34.10 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.38% to 1.1164, while USD/JPY rose 0.09% to 116.88.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.45% at 96.94.