Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Healthcare, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.07%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.93%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.93%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 0.98% or 0.85 points to trade at 87.44 at the close. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 0.12% or 0.07 points to end at 52.12 and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was down 0.10% or 0.16 points to 158.13 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which fell 2.75% or 4.50 points to trade at 158.95 at the close. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 2.20% or 1.39 points to end at 61.91 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was down 2.03% or 1.08 points to 52.17.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) which rose 7.26% to 46.26, Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) which was up 6.30% to settle at 67.45 and Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG) which gained 5.99% to close at 10.62.
The worst performers were Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which was down 9.41% to 6.115 in late trade, Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) which lost 6.85% to settle at 39.72 and Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which was down 6.40% to 20.93 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CATB) which rose 39.51% to 6.250, Cosi Inc (NASDAQ:COSI) which was up 32.00% to settle at 0.0726 and Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AEGR) which gained 22.89% to close at 3.06.
The worst performers were Intracellular Th (NASDAQ:ITCI) which was down 63.59% to 15.42 in late trade, Alcobra Ltd (NASDAQ:ADHD) which lost 45.67% to settle at 2.51 and Marinus Pharma (NASDAQ:MRNS) which was down 26.74% to 2.00 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2451 to 726 and 66 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1916 fell and 618 advanced, while 73 ended unchanged.
Shares in Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose to 52-week highs; rising 6.30% or 4.00 to 67.45. Shares in Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) rose to 52-week highs; up 0.98% or 0.85 to 87.44. Shares in Intracellular Th (NASDAQ:ITCI) fell to 52-week lows; down 63.59% or 26.93 to 15.42. Shares in Alcobra Ltd (NASDAQ:ADHD) fell to all time lows; down 45.67% or 2.11 to 2.51.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 14.12% to 14.14.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.02% or 0.25 to $1323.95 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.47% or 0.69 to hit $47.74 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 0.93% or 0.46 to trade at $49.70 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.04% to 1.1222, while USD/JPY rose 0.38% to 101.07.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.12% at 95.42.