Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Telecoms, Utilities and Healthcare sectors led shares higher while losses in the Basic Materials, Oil & Gas and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.13%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.02%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.08%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 2.30% or 1.33 points to trade at 59.10 at the close. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 1.77% or 0.77 points to end at 44.22 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 1.22% or 2.31 points to 191.50 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 4.09% or 6.27 points to trade at 147.03 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 1.49% or 1.89 points to end at 124.57 and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) was down 0.93% or 0.25 points to 26.69.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) which rose 4.52% to 20.56, Frontier Communications Corp (NASDAQ:FTR) which was up 4.34% to settle at 14.91 and Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which gained 4.10% to close at 46.71.
The worst performers were Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS) which was down 9.45% to 238.62 in late trade, PPG Industries Inc (NYSE:PPG) which lost 6.06% to settle at 106.72 and Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW) which was down 5.56% to 72.56 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Eco Stim Energy Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ESES) which rose 28.24% to 1.680, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) which was up 20.10% to settle at 40.930 and AEterna Zentaris Inc (NASDAQ:AEZS) which gained 19.66% to close at 2.800.
The worst performers were Ominto Inc (NASDAQ:OMNT) which was down 16.99% to 6.5000 in late trade, A Schulman Inc (NASDAQ:SHLM) which lost 16.72% to settle at 25.90 and ESSA Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:EPIX) which was down 16.64% to 0.250 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1549 to 1529 and 167 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1263 rose and 1165 declined, while 175 ended unchanged.
Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; up 1.22% or 2.31 to 191.50. Shares in ESSA Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:EPIX) fell to all time lows; losing 16.64% or 0.050 to 0.250.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.55% to 9.54.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.10% or 1.23 to $1243.23 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.85% or 0.40 to hit $46.92 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 0.78% or 0.39 to trade at $49.31 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 1.01% to 1.1630, while USD/JPY fell 0.02% to 111.92.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.58% at 94.09.