Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Financials, Basic Materials and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.42%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.61%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.76%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 1.24% or 1.37 points to trade at 111.55 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 0.60% or 1.12 points to end at 188.25 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 0.44% or 0.67 points to 152.91 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which fell 2.32% or 3.65 points to trade at 153.87 at the close. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) declined 2.25% or 8.31 points to end at 360.38 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was down 1.64% or 0.47 points to 28.26.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which rose 5.78% to 208.95, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) which was up 2.69% to settle at 54.50 and Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) which gained 2.67% to close at 34.27.
The worst performers were Charter Communications Inc (NASDAQ:CHTR) which was down 16.38% to 328.34 in late trade, Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) which lost 5.44% to settle at 49.69 and Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) which was down 5.38% to 247.83 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Icosavax Inc (NASDAQ:ICVX) which rose 112.38% to 8.92, Vallon Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VLON) which was up 104.69% to settle at 0.51 and Core Scientific Inc (NASDAQ:CORZ) which gained 69.72% to close at 0.25.
The worst performers were Netcapital Inc (NASDAQ:NCPL) which was down 36.82% to 1.39 in late trade, Bit Brother Ltd (NASDAQ:BTB) which lost 35.74% to settle at 0.34 and Champions Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CSBR) which was down 30.30% to 4.60 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1796 to 1252 and 123 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2196 fell and 1527 advanced, while 170 ended unchanged.
Shares in Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) rose to all time highs; rising 1.24% or 1.37 to 111.55. Shares in Champions Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CSBR) fell to 52-week lows; falling 30.30% or 2.00 to 4.60.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.25% to 21.14.
Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.35% or 6.35 to $1,819.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 2.68% or 2.02 to hit $77.41 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 2.73% or 2.20 to trade at $82.88 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.48% to 1.07, while USD/JPY fell 0.13% to 135.40.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.33% at 103.23.