Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Consumer Services and Technology sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Financials and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.20%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.11%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.38%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which rose 0.84% or 0.90 points to trade at 108.07 at the close. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) added 0.60% or 0.42 points to end at 70.74 and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) was up 0.50% or 0.17 points to 34.33 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 1.16% or 1.91 points to trade at 163.44 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 1.04% or 1.27 points to end at 120.53 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was down 0.82% or 0.28 points to 33.74.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which rose 20.45% to 108.01, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which was up 7.79% to settle at 5.810 and Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) which gained 5.37% to close at 45.92.
The worst performers were F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) which was down 3.42% to 142.10 in late trade, Mylan Inc (NASDAQ:MYL) which lost 3.28% to settle at 40.35 and Arconic Inc (NYSE:ARNC) which was down 3.12% to 26.20 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (NASDAQ:TNXP) which rose 34.54% to 5.570, Performant Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PFMT) which was up 31.69% to settle at 2.410 and Cerulean Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:CERU) which gained 25.50% to close at 0.910.
The worst performers were Alliqua Inc (NASDAQ:ALQA) which was down 30.98% to 0.431 in late trade, Catalyst Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CBIO) which lost 29.98% to settle at 10.510 and Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:ATOS) which was down 27.52% to 0.7900 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2089 to 1120 and 54 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1524 rose and 972 declined, while 115 ended unchanged.
Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) rose to 52-week highs; up 20.45% or 18.34 to 108.01. Shares in Alliqua Inc (NASDAQ:ALQA) fell to all time lows; down 30.98% or 0.194 to 0.431. Shares in Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:ATOS) fell to 52-week lows; down 27.52% or 0.3000 to 0.7900.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.95% to 11.42.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.26% or 3.25 to $1252.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 2.21% or 1.07 to hit $49.44 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 1.98% or 1.02 to trade at $52.44 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.43% to 1.0768, while USD/JPY fell 0.11% to 111.04.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.24% at 99.77.