Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Telecoms, Healthcare and Technology sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.27%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.07%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.03%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which rose 2.02% or 4.91 points to trade at 247.74 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.47% or 3.78 points to end at 260.26 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 1.43% or 7.27 points to 515.71 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 2.11% or 3.96 points to trade at 183.48 at the close. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) declined 1.97% or 2.96 points to end at 146.98 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 1.91% or 2.72 points to 139.47.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) which rose 6.35% to 74.72, ABIOMED Inc (NASDAQ:ABMD) which was up 2.97% to settle at 256.49 and Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) which gained 2.80% to close at 93.35.
The worst performers were Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) which was down 14.13% to 8.87 in late trade, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) which lost 10.26% to settle at 36.02 and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) which was down 9.33% to 11.57 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Allena Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALNA) which rose 114.29% to 0.26, COMSovereign Holding Corp (NASDAQ:COMS) which was up 60.36% to settle at 0.25 and Brickell Biotech Inc (NASDAQ:BBI) which gained 47.64% to close at 0.17.
The worst performers were Agile Thrpe (NASDAQ:AGRX) which was down 36.10% to 1.54 in late trade, Exicure Inc (NASDAQ:XCUR) which lost 27.81% to settle at 0.09 and Aileron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALRN) which was down 27.14% to 0.30 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2061 to 1034 and 125 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2379 fell and 1343 advanced, while 172 ended unchanged.
Shares in General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) rose to all time highs; gaining 6.35% or 4.46 to 74.72. Shares in Exicure Inc (NASDAQ:XCUR) fell to all time lows; falling 27.81% or 0.04 to 0.09. Shares in Aileron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALRN) fell to 52-week lows; down 27.14% or 0.11 to 0.30.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.71% to 28.16.
Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.06% or 1.05 to $1,820.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 2.00% or 2.23 to hit $109.53 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 1.48% or 1.68 to trade at $112.12 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.73% to 1.04, while USD/JPY rose 0.39% to 136.65.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.57% at 104.86.