Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, pressured by a third-straight day of falling oil prices which weighed on the broader market while an unexpected uptick in U.S existing home sales failed to lift sentiment.
Energy stocks came under pressure, as crude settled 2.2% lower on the day, after hitting a 10-month low earlier during the session, despite bullish inventory data showing a larger than expected draw in US crude stockpiles.
Crude prices have fallen more than 20% since January, as investors continue question the effectiveness of the Opec deal to curb production amid an uptick in global production.
The slump in energy stocks overshadowed positive economic data showing that sales of existing homes rose 1.1% in May to an annual rate of 5.62 million.
Analysts had forecast U.S. existing home sales to decline by 0.5%.
In corporate news, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) came into the spotlight, closing more than 5% higher, after Cleveland Research, a boutique equity research firm, said it sees indications that Twitter's advertisers and partners are encouraged by user growth on the site.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,401.85. The S&P 500 closed 0.06% lower while the Nasdaq Composite rose to 6233.95, up 0.74%.
The ‘Bulls and Bears’ on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) up 2%, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) up 1.4%, while Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) rose 1%.
Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) down 3.3%, E I du Pont de Nemours & Co (NYSE:DD) down 2.6% and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) down 1.9%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.