Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Utilities, Telecoms and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher while losses in the Healthcare, Oil & Gas and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.09%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.11%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.15%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 1.22% or 0.63 points to trade at 52.45 at the close. Meanwhile, The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) added 1.19% or 1.36 points to end at 115.36 and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was up 0.92% or 1.05 points to 114.73 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which fell 2.26% or 0.70 points to trade at 30.34 at the close. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) declined 0.87% or 0.90 points to end at 102.14 and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was down 0.73% or 0.64 points to 87.10.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) which rose 3.78% to 39.78, L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) which was up 3.54% to settle at 73.05 and Kroger Company (NYSE:KR) which gained 3.54% to close at 31.18.
The worst performers were Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) which was down 5.13% to 168.43 in late trade, Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) which lost 4.28% to settle at 23.80 and Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which was down 4.06% to 19.63 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were VOXX International Corporation (NASDAQ:VOXX) which rose 49.02% to 3.800, Htg Molecular Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:HTGM) which was up 37.17% to settle at 3.100 and Amyris Inc (NASDAQ:AMRS) which gained 20.37% to close at 0.770.
The worst performers were Biostar Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:BSPM) which was down 20.90% to 4.3900 in late trade, Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson B (NASDAQ:ERIC) which lost 20.83% to settle at 5.55 and Theravance Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:TBPH) which was down 15.84% to 31.51 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1611 to 1526 and 81 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1334 fell and 1133 advanced, while 114 ended unchanged.
Shares in Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 3.78% or 1.45 to 39.78. Shares in Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson B (NASDAQ:ERIC) fell to 5-year lows; falling 20.83% or 1.46 to 5.55.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.86% to 15.80.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.01% or 0.15 to $1256.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 1.00% or 0.51 to hit $50.28 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract fell 1.03% or 0.54 to trade at $51.87 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.40% to 1.1010, while USD/JPY rose 0.71% to 104.25.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.25% at 97.96.