Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Utilities, Financials and Healthcare sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.81%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.76%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.90%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP), which rose 0.89% or 0.51 points to trade at 57.98 at the close. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) added 0.50% or 0.90 points to end at 179.90 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was up 0.48% or 0.28 points to 58.94 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which fell 2.97% or 3.77 points to trade at 123.04 at the close. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined 2.82% or 5.43 points to end at 186.80 and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) was down 2.06% or 2.26 points to 107.33.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) which rose 6.62% to 8.70, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) which was up 6.12% to settle at 20.810 and BorgWarner Inc (NYSE:BWA) which gained 3.51% to close at 39.18.
The worst performers were Pacific Gas & Electric Co (NYSE:PCG) which was down 21.79% to 25.59 in late trade, Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) which lost 9.48% to settle at 64.80 and CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which was down 8.55% to 45.03 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sphere 3D Corp (NASDAQ:ANY) which rose 58.18% to 2.610, Empire Resorts Inc (NASDAQ:NYNY) which was up 53.93% to settle at 13.130 and Presbia PLC (NASDAQ:LENS) which gained 24.08% to close at 0.906.
The worst performers were Seven Stars Cloud Group Inc (NASDAQ:IDEX) which was down 48.77% to 1.670 in late trade, Resonant Inc (NASDAQ:RESN) which lost 42.21% to settle at 1.670 and Five Star Quality Care Inc (NASDAQ:FVE) which was down 31.97% to 0.435 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1689 to 1091 and 57 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1592 fell and 786 advanced, while 66 ended unchanged.
Shares in Pacific Gas & Electric Co (NYSE:PCG) fell to 5-year lows; losing 21.79% or 7.13 to 25.59. Shares in Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) rose to 5-year highs; rising 0.48% or 0.28 to 58.94. Shares in Resonant Inc (NASDAQ:RESN) fell to all time lows; down 42.21% or 1.220 to 1.670.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 6.14% to 21.25.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 1.08% or 12.90 to $1212.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.95% or 0.53 to hit $56.22 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 0.93% or 0.61 to trade at $66.08 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.25% to 1.1318, while USD/JPY fell 0.20% to 113.59.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.35% at 96.80.