Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Utilities, Consumer Services and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher while losses in the Financials, Oil & Gas and Healthcare sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.18%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.07%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.15%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 2.03% or 1.07 points to trade at 53.88 at the close. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) added 1.38% or 0.92 points to end at 67.81 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 0.90% or 1.23 points to 137.88 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which fell 0.88% or 0.76 points to trade at 85.96 at the close. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) declined 0.80% or 0.69 points to end at 85.09 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was down 0.79% or 1.89 points to 237.73.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) which rose 6.00% to 73.80, Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) which was up 4.95% to settle at 56.45 and Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) which gained 4.32% to close at 40.84.
The worst performers were Akamai Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) which was down 10.64% to 63.55 in late trade, Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) which lost 8.61% to settle at 66.83 and CSRA Inc (NYSE:CSRA) which was down 6.91% to 30.30 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Two Rivers Bancorp (NASDAQ:TRCB) which unchanged 0.00% to 15.95, Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) which was up 35.75% to settle at 3.000 and Ocera Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:OCRX) which gained 32.55% to close at 0.729.
The worst performers were Galena Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:GALE) which was down 40.46% to 0.8336 in late trade, Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACUR) which lost 29.23% to settle at 0.920 and Second Sight Medical Products (NASDAQ:EYES) which was down 27.54% to 2.00 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1752 to 1463 and 44 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1457 fell and 1055 advanced, while 99 ended unchanged.
Shares in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) rose to all time highs; gaining 6.00% or 4.18 to 73.80. Shares in Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) fell to 52-week lows; down 8.61% or 6.30 to 66.83. Shares in Two Rivers Bancorp (NASDAQ:TRCB) unchanged to all time highs; unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to 15.95.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 1.15% to 11.42.
Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.53% or 6.55 to $1242.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 0.50% or 0.26 to hit $52.43 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.25% or 0.14 to trade at $55.19 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.10% to 1.0690, while USD/JPY fell 0.34% to 112.00.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.18% at 100.21.