Investing.com – United States stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Telecommunications and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher while losses in the Consumer Services, Consumer Goods and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.06%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.03%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.20%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which rose 1.01% or 1.62 points to trade at 162.06 at the close. Meanwhile, AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) added 0.89% or 0.30 points to end at 33.89 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was up 0.73% or 1.91 points to 264.11 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 1.47% or 1.54 points to trade at 103.43 at the close. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) declined 1.16% or 1.12 points to end at 95.03 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 0.88% or 0.80 points to 90.29.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which rose 3.59% to 123.07, Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) which was up 3.26% to settle at 55.19 and Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE:LH) which gained 3.26% to close at 111.42.
The worst performers were Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) which was down 3.98% to 30.66 in late trade, Nabors Industries Ltd (NYSE:NBR) which lost 3.77% to settle at 12.49 and Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) which was down 2.81% to 17.61 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Brainstorm Cell Therapuetics Inc (NASDAQ:BCLI) which rose 57.56% to 7.5000, Viggle (NASDAQ:VGGL) which was up 25.38% to settle at 3.31 and Spanish Broadcasting System Inc (NASDAQ:SBSA) which gained 22.51% to close at 2.83.
The worst performers were Nephrogenex (NASDAQ:NRX) which was down 20.00% to 10.68 in late trade, MiMedx Group Inc (NASDAQ:MDXG) which lost 15.52% to settle at 9.74 and ePlus inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) which was down 9.87% to 68.22 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1558 to 1250; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1145 fell and 695 advanced, while 931 ended unchanged.
Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) rose to 52 week highs; rising 3.59% or 4.27 to 123.07.
Shares in Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE:LH) rose to 52 week highs; gaining 3.26% or 3.52 to 111.42.
Shares in Brainstorm Cell Therapuetics Inc (NASDAQ:BCLI) rose to 52 week highs; gaining 57.56% or 2.7400 to 7.5000.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 8.18% to 17.63.
Gold for February delivery was up 0.32% or 3.80 to $1187.90 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in commodities trading, crude oil for delivery in February fell 1.30% or 0.69 to hit $52.58 a barrel, while the February brent oil contract fell 1.74% or 0.99 to trade at $56.34 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.84% to 1.2003, while USD/JPY rose 0.60% to 120.48.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.87% at 91.44.