Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Healthcare, Oil & Gas and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.02%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.11%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.07%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 2.69% or 1.45 points to trade at 55.37 at the close. Meanwhile, E I du Pont de Nemours & Co (NYSE:DD) added 1.74% or 1.38 points to end at 80.56 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 0.43% or 0.63 points to 147.99 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 1.04% or 1.74 points to trade at 165.29 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 0.61% or 0.74 points to end at 121.29 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) was down 0.56% or 0.39 points to 69.86.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) which rose 8.48% to 98.55, TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) which was up 2.71% to settle at 42.52 and Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) which gained 2.70% to close at 22.85.
The worst performers were Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) which was down 8.25% to 1.94 in late trade, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) which lost 4.52% to settle at 120.76 and Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) which was down 3.97% to 65.31 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were HTG Molecular Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:HTGM) which rose 83.64% to 3.930, Flexion Theraptc (NASDAQ:FLXN) which was up 33.38% to settle at 26.25 and FunctionX Inc (NASDAQ:FNCX) which gained 29.00% to close at 0.6579.
The worst performers were Cerulean Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:CERU) which was down 33.93% to 0.740 in late trade, Medigus Ltd (NASDAQ:MDGS) which lost 27.11% to settle at 4.410 and Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC) which was down 22.76% to 2.0700 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2053 to 1151 and 56 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1625 rose and 885 declined, while 85 ended unchanged.
Shares in Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) fell to 5-year lows; losing 8.25% or 0.17 to 1.94. Shares in HTG Molecular Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:HTGM) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 83.64% or 1.790 to 3.930. Shares in Flexion Theraptc (NASDAQ:FLXN) rose to 52-week highs; up 33.38% or 6.57 to 26.25. Shares in Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC) fell to 52-week lows; losing 22.76% or 0.6100 to 2.0700.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.03% to 13.07.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.34% or 4.20 to $1245.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.69% or 0.33 to hit $47.71 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 0.20% or 0.10 to trade at $50.54 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.06% to 1.0789, while USD/JPY fell 0.15% to 110.99.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.05% at 99.53.