U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.87%

© Reuters. U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.87%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Utilities, Technology and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.87%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.70%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.05%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), which rose 1.87% or 4.32 points to trade at 234.90 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.78% or 4.65 points to end at 265.44 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was up 1.43% or 0.40 points to 28.41 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which fell 4.71% or 6.34 points to trade at 128.28 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 4.34% or 8.99 points to end at 198.29 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was down 4.29% or 6.90 points to 153.86.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW) which rose 5.15% to 59.60, Comerica Inc (NYSE:CMA) which was up 3.06% to settle at 44.83 and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) which gained 3.00% to close at 303.79.

The worst performers were First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) which was down 20.57% to 31.48 in late trade, Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) which lost 9.04% to settle at 30.40 and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) which was down 8.52% to 21.25 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Thermogenesis Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:THMO) which rose 98.58% to 4.19, Elevation Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:ELEV) which was up 62.24% to settle at 2.32 and Loyalty Ventures Inc (NASDAQ:LYLT) which gained 59.35% to close at 0.27.

The worst performers were Recon Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:RCON) which was down 64.51% to 0.37 in late trade, American Public Education Inc (NASDAQ:APEI) which lost 50.76% to settle at 4.56 and Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:BLCM) which was down 50.14% to 0.43 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2305 to 720 and 81 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2504 fell and 1089 advanced, while 159 ended unchanged.

Shares in Recon Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:RCON) fell to 5-year lows; losing 64.51% or 0.68 to 0.37. Shares in American Public Education Inc (NASDAQ:APEI) fell to all time lows; down 50.76% or 4.70 to 4.56. Shares in Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:BLCM) fell to all time lows; falling 50.14% or 0.43 to 0.43.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 10.16% to 26.14.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.65% or 12.40 to $1,923.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 4.32% or 3.08 to hit $68.25 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 0.13% or 0.10 to trade at $74.33 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.03% to 1.06, while USD/JPY rose 0.01% to 133.41.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 1.13% at 104.39.