Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.27%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.06%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.74%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 2.00% or 1.03 points to trade at 52.59 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.44% or 0.93 points to end at 65.46 and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) was up 0.95% or 0.32 points to 33.88 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 3.34% or 3.57 points to trade at 103.47 at the close. E I du Pont de Nemours & Co (NYSE:DD) declined 2.65% or 2.20 points to end at 80.92 and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) was down 1.87% or 1.99 points to 104.49.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were CA Inc (NASDAQ:CA) which rose 13.36% to 35.80, Red Hat Inc (NYSE:RHT) which was up 9.58% to settle at 98.58 and Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) which gained 7.55% to close at 133.99.
The worst performers were Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) which was down 8.20% to 1.12 in late trade, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which lost 7.94% to settle at 4.520 and Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) which was down 5.55% to 56.20 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) which rose 97.14% to 0.304, Sky Solar Holdings Adr Rep 8 (NASDAQ:SKYS) which was up 31.37% to settle at 1.404 and Rand Logistics Inc (NASDAQ:RLOG) which gained 31.23% to close at 0.4500.
The worst performers were FunctionX Inc (NASDAQ:FNCX) which was down 19.80% to 0.3930 in late trade, Sears Canada Inc (NASDAQ:SRSC) which lost 19.69% to settle at 0.469 and DryShips Inc (NASDAQ:DRYS) which was down 16.67% to 0.85 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2060 to 1165 and 28 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1305 fell and 1212 advanced, while 97 ended unchanged.
Shares in CA Inc (NASDAQ:CA) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 13.36% or 4.22 to 35.80. Shares in Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) fell to all time lows; losing 8.20% or 0.10 to 1.12. Shares in Red Hat Inc (NYSE:RHT) rose to 5-year highs; rising 9.58% or 8.62 to 98.58. Shares in FunctionX Inc (NASDAQ:FNCX) fell to all time lows; falling 19.80% or 0.0970 to 0.3930. Shares in Sears Canada Inc (NASDAQ:SRSC) fell to all time lows; falling 19.69% or 0.115 to 0.469. Shares in DryShips Inc (NASDAQ:DRYS) fell to 5-year lows; losing 16.67% or 0.17 to 0.85.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.46% to 10.81.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.28% or 3.44 to $1246.94 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 2.25% or 0.98 to hit $42.53 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 2.65% or 1.22 to trade at $44.80 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.27% to 1.1164, while USD/JPY fell 0.04% to 111.42.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.16% at 97.24.