Investing.com – United States stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Utilities, Health Care and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.03% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.01%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.17%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which rose 0.93% or 1.21 points to trade at 131.24 at the close. Meanwhile, Visa Inc (NYSE:V) added 0.89% or 2.37 points to end at 267.63 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 0.44% or 0.25 points to 57.46 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), which fell 0.86% or 0.81 points to trade at 93.78 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 0.64% or 0.31 points to end at 48.14 and EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) was down 0.53% or 0.40 points to 74.79.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) which rose 3.28% to 109.60, Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) which was up 2.94% to settle at 18.57 and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) which gained 2.89% to close at 66.210.
The worst performers were GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) which was down 3.58% to 33.39 in late trade, Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) which lost 3.18% to settle at 17.05 and ENSCO plc (NYSE:ESV) which was down 2.85% to 30.39 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:ATOS) which rose 34.91% to 1.430, ZaZa Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:ZAZA) which was up 28.00% to settle at 3.20 and Gulf Coast (NASDAQ:GULTU) which gained 19.71% to close at 1.25.
The worst performers were Liquid Hlgs (NASDAQ:LIQD) which was down 46.09% to 0.40 in late trade, The Wet Seal Inc (NASDAQ:WTSL) which lost 19.68% to settle at 0.061 and Entertainment Gaming Asia (NASDAQ:EGT) which was down 13.02% to 0.461 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1425 to 1363; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1616 rose and 1124 declined, while 9 ended unchanged.
Shares in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) rose to 52 week highs; gaining 0.89% or 2.37 to 267.63.
Shares in Liquid Hlgs (NASDAQ:LIQD) fell to 52 week lows; down 46.09% or 0.34 to 0.40.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.91% to 14.37.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.25% or 3.00 to $1175.00 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in commodities trading, crude oil for delivery in February fell 2.19% or 1.25 to hit $55.87 a barrel, while the February brent oil contract fell 2.52% or 1.55 to trade at $60.13 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.22% to 1.2201, while USD/JPY fell 0.19% to 120.45.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.11% at 90.24.