Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Industrials and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.05% to hit a new 1-month low, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.90%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.79%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which rose 1.37% or 2.03 points to trade at 150.27 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.31% or 1.79 points to end at 138.06 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 0.84% or 0.70 points to 83.69 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which fell 3.89% or 8.56 points to trade at 211.57 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 3.72% or 4.90 points to end at 126.77 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was down 3.41% or 2.93 points to 83.10.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) which rose 9.59% to 31.19, Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) which was up 9.33% to settle at 63.65 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which gained 7.60% to close at 179.29.
The worst performers were ABIOMED Inc (NASDAQ:ABMD) which was down 26.45% to 204.87 in late trade, Concho Resources Inc (NYSE:CXO) which lost 22.23% to settle at 75.97 and Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) which was down 10.82% to 68.25 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Mid-Con Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:MCEP) which rose 81.06% to 0.65, Myriad Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:MYGN) which was up 54.46% to settle at 45.01 and Maiden Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:MHLD) which gained 36.53% to close at 0.68.
The worst performers were ConforMIS Inc (NASDAQ:CFMS) which was down 46.01% to 1.49 in late trade, Pluralsight LLC (NASDAQ:PS) which lost 39.52% to settle at 18.56 and Flex Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:SLRX) which was down 29.32% to 5.28 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1954 to 1060 and 16 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1822 fell and 825 advanced, while 102 ended unchanged.
Shares in ABIOMED Inc (NASDAQ:ABMD) fell to 52-week lows; down 26.45% or 73.69 to 204.87. Shares in Concho Resources Inc (NYSE:CXO) fell to 3-years lows; losing 22.23% or 21.71 to 75.97. Shares in Pluralsight LLC (NASDAQ:PS) fell to all time lows; losing 39.52% or 12.13 to 18.56. Shares in Flex Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:SLRX) fell to 52-week lows; falling 29.32% or 2.19 to 5.28.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 10.86% to 17.87 a new 1-month high.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 1.36% or 19.50 to $1457.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 6.93% or 4.06 to hit $54.52 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 0.07% or 0.04 to trade at $61.06 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.02% to 1.1085, while USD/JPY fell 0.08% to 107.25.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.12% at 98.140.