Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Healthcare, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Telecoms and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.08%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.20%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.15%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which rose 1.37% or 0.43 points to trade at 31.84 at the close. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) added 1.33% or 1.54 points to end at 117.03 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 1.30% or 2.26 points to 176.02 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 1.48% or 0.97 points to trade at 64.39 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) declined 1.26% or 0.55 points to end at 42.96 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was down 1.20% or 1.19 points to 98.34.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) which rose 5.78% to 38.98, Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) which was up 5.01% to settle at 72.91 and Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) which gained 4.80% to close at 149.00.
The worst performers were CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX) which was down 6.73% to 9.14 in late trade, Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) which lost 5.84% to settle at 19.83 and Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) which was down 4.33% to 42.86 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) which rose 48.91% to 5.450, XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ:XOMA) which was up 43.54% to settle at 1.079 and Recon Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:RCON) which gained 36.90% to close at 1.150.
The worst performers were Interphase Corporation (NASDAQ:INPH) which was down 70.75% to 0.05 in late trade, EDAP TMS SA (NASDAQ:EDAP) which lost 34.70% to settle at 3.650 and Medical Tra (NASDAQ:MTBC) which was down 31.49% to 1.24 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1313 to 1214 and 1 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1476 fell and 1037 advanced, while 61 ended unchanged.
Shares in CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX) fell to 5-year lows; losing 6.73% or 0.66 to 9.14. Shares in Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) fell to 5-year lows; falling 5.84% or 1.23 to 19.83. Shares in Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) fell to 52-week lows; falling 1.26% or 0.55 to 42.96. Shares in Interphase Corporation (NASDAQ:INPH) fell to all time lows; down 70.75% or 0.12 to 0.05. Shares in Medical Tra (NASDAQ:MTBC) fell to all time lows; down 31.49% or 0.57 to 1.24.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.67% to 22.62.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.18% or 2.00 to $1113.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 0.16% or 0.07 to hit $45.02 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 0.86% or 0.41 to trade at $47.95 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.06% to 1.1182, while USD/JPY rose 0.05% to 119.94.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.08% at 96.34.