Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Technology, Oil & Gas and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.61%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.92%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.48%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 1.09% or 1.13 points to trade at 104.46 at the close. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) added 0.89% or 0.77 points to end at 87.38 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 0.42% or 0.44 points to 104.21 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which fell 3.20% or 1.82 points to trade at 54.99 at the close. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) declined 1.83% or 0.51 points to end at 27.41 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was down 1.59% or 1.63 points to 101.01.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) which rose 8.86% to 21.51, Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) which was up 4.66% to settle at 65.69 and Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which gained 3.30% to close at 23.78.
The worst performers were Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) which was down 14.06% to 34.30 in late trade, DR Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI) which lost 7.80% to settle at 23.18 and Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) which was down 7.17% to 42.48 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution (NASDAQ:KONE) which rose 27.95% to 4.120, Porter Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:PBIB) which was up 22.98% to settle at 0.762 and ATRM Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATRM) which gained 20.19% to close at 3.750.
The worst performers were eHealth Inc (NASDAQ:EHTH) which was down 54.71% to 9.42 in late trade, QKL Stores Inc (NASDAQ:QKLS) which lost 24.27% to settle at 1.810 and MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ:MNGA) which was down 20.21% to 0.710 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2045 to 759; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2231 fell and 530 advanced, while 5 ended unchanged.
Shares in Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.66% or 2.92 to 65.69. Shares in eHealth Inc (NASDAQ:EHTH) fell to all time lows; losing 54.71% or 11.38 to 9.42.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 4.38% to 22.42.
Gold for February delivery was up 1.98% or 24.50 to $1259.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude Oil for delivery in February fell 4.65% or 2.25 to hit $46.23 a barrel, while the March Brent Oil contract fell 3.40% or 1.70 to trade at $48.16 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 1.42% to 1.1621, while USD/JPY fell 0.93% to 116.25.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.25% at 92.53.