Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Consumer Services and Telecoms sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.24%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.03%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.09%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 2.15% or 5.12 points to trade at 243.55 at the close. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) added 1.70% or 1.75 points to end at 104.45 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was up 0.89% or 1.09 points to 123.07 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which fell 2.87% or 10.08 points to trade at 340.93 at the close. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) declined 2.82% or 0.49 points to end at 16.86 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 1.30% or 0.81 points to 61.23.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) which rose 8.07% to 11.59, Viacom B Inc (NASDAQ:VIAB) which was up 6.91% to settle at 34.17 and Wyndham Worldwide Corp (NYSE:WYN) which gained 4.93% to close at 122.91.
The worst performers were Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) which was down 7.03% to 118.03 in late trade, Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) which lost 4.15% to settle at 55.49 and Baker Hughes A Ge Company LLC (NYSE:BHGE) which was down 3.64% to 34.97 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were PhaseRx Inc (NASDAQ:PZRX) which rose 72.03% to 0.50, Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON) which was up 34.15% to settle at 1.65 and Spi Energy Co Ltd (NASDAQ:SPI) which gained 34.02% to close at 1.15.
The worst performers were Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:DFFN) which was down 36.71% to 0.7025 in late trade, Apollo Medical Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AMEH) which lost 23.45% to settle at 21.05 and US Gold Corp (NASDAQ:USAU) which was down 20.68% to 2.4588 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2127 to 1008 and 43 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1491 fell and 1036 advanced, while 101 ended unchanged.
Shares in Wyndham Worldwide Corp (NYSE:WYN) rose to all time highs; rising 4.93% or 5.78 to 122.91. Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; rising 2.15% or 5.12 to 243.55. Shares in Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) rose to all time highs; rising 1.70% or 1.75 to 104.45. Shares in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) fell to 5-year lows; down 2.82% or 0.49 to 16.86. Shares in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) rose to all time highs; rising 0.89% or 1.09 to 123.07. Shares in Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:DFFN) fell to all time lows; down 36.71% or 0.4075 to 0.7025.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.02% to 11.67.
Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.93% or 12.50 to $1326.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.09% or 0.06 to hit $63.91 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 0.07% or 0.05 to trade at $69.33 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.35% to 1.2229, while USD/JPY fell 0.12% to 111.18.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.29% at 90.39.