Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.29%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.51%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.08%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 2.38% or 1.14 points to trade at 48.98 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.23% or 0.66 points to end at 54.36 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 1.21% or 1.54 points to 128.82 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which fell 4.77% or 7.43 points to trade at 148.27 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 2.56% or 3.85 points to end at 146.38 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was down 1.44% or 5.02 points to 344.67.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which rose 7.82% to 34.18, Universal Health Services Inc (NYSE:UHS) which was up 6.74% to settle at 123.84 and Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) which gained 6.39% to close at 14.65.
The worst performers were Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:FL) which was down 12.73% to 40.04 in late trade, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) which lost 4.77% to settle at 148.27 and Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) which was down 3.34% to 194.00 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Innovate Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INNT) which rose 54.15% to 9.48, Zosano Pharma Corp (NASDAQ:ZSAN) which was up 39.38% to settle at 7.610 and Auris Medical Holding AG (NASDAQ:EARS) which gained 26.49% to close at 0.316.
The worst performers were Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH) which was down 40.96% to 11.100 in late trade, Aytu BioScience Inc (NASDAQ:AYTU) which lost 28.96% to settle at 0.3950 and Tenax Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TENX) which was down 27.36% to 7.700 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1941 to 1112 and 139 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1959 rose and 605 declined, while 102 ended unchanged.
Shares in Innovate Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INNT) rose to all time highs; rising 54.15% or 3.33 to 9.48. Shares in Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH) fell to 3-years lows; down 40.96% or 7.700 to 11.100. Shares in Aytu BioScience Inc (NASDAQ:AYTU) fell to all time lows; down 28.96% or 0.1610 to 0.3950.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 12.86% to 19.58.
Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.36% or 17.80 to $1323.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.71% or 0.43 to hit $61.42 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 1.05% or 0.67 to trade at $64.50 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.51% to 1.2326, while USD/JPY fell 0.46% to 105.73.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.32% at 89.93.