Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Healthcare, Consumer Services and Telecoms sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.03%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.13%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.03%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Home Depot Inc (N:HD), which rose 4.42% or 5.34 points to trade at 126.18 at the close. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT) added 3.54% or 2.05 points to end at 59.92 and Intel Corporation (O:INTC) was up 1.68% or 0.54 points to 32.64 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT), which fell 1.42% or 1.00 points to trade at 69.39 at the close. Exxon Mobil Corporation (N:XOM) declined 1.16% or 0.94 points to end at 79.96 and Pfizer Inc (N:PFE) was down 0.87% or 0.29 points to 32.87.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Airgas Inc (N:ARG) which rose 29.36% to 137.35, Fossil Group Inc (O:FOSL) which was up 8.54% to settle at 34.57 and Qorvo Inc (O:QRVO) which gained 5.59% to close at 54.74.
The worst performers were Keurig Green Mountain Inc (O:GMCR) which was down 9.80% to 40.13 in late trade, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (N:CHK) which lost 7.41% to settle at 5.87 and Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (N:COG) which was down 6.91% to 21.00 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Axion Power International Inc (O:AXPW) which rose 33.72% to 1.070, Wave Systems Corp (O:WAVX) which was up 23.15% to settle at 0.150 and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc (O:KBIO) which gained 26.16% to close at 2.170.
The worst performers were Cesca Therapeutics Inc (O:KOOL) which was down 48.97% to 0.300 in late trade, Speed Commerce Inc (O:SPDC) which lost 32.96% to settle at 0.142 and AgroFresh Solutions Inc (O:AGFS) which was down 28.07% to 5.15 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2171 to 1271 and 5 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1418 fell and 1197 advanced, while 71 ended unchanged.
Shares in Airgas Inc (N:ARG) rose to all time highs; rising 29.36% or 31.17 to 137.35. Shares in Keurig Green Mountain Inc (O:GMCR) fell to 52-week lows; falling 9.80% or 4.36 to 40.13. Shares in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (N:CHK) fell to 5-year lows; falling 7.41% or 0.47 to 5.87. Shares in Home Depot Inc (N:HD) rose to all time highs; up 4.42% or 5.34 to 126.18. Shares in Cesca Therapeutics Inc (O:KOOL) fell to all time lows; falling 48.97% or 0.288 to 0.300. Shares in AgroFresh Solutions Inc (O:AGFS) fell to all time lows; losing 28.07% or 2.01 to 5.15.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 3.74% to 18.84.
Gold for December delivery was down 1.38% or 15.00 to $1068.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 2.02% or 0.84 to hit $40.90 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.69% or 0.76 to trade at $43.80 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.37% to 1.0648, while USD/JPY rose 0.18% to 123.40.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.23% at 99.70.