U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.14%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Utilities, Consumer Goods and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.14%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.20%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.25%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 2.73% or 2.42 points to trade at 91.06 at the close. Meanwhile, Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) added 1.20% or 2.23 points to end at 187.88 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 0.72% or 3.78 points to 526.95 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which fell 1.81% or 5.70 points to trade at 309.17 at the close. JPMorgan Chase&Co (NYSE:JPM) declined 1.21% or 1.35 points to end at 110.42 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was down 1.09% or 0.51 points to 46.11.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which rose 6.56% to 218.52, Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB) which was up 6.37% to settle at 41.61 and Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which gained 5.19% to close at 9.72.

The worst performers were Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) which was down 9.33% to 7.29 in late trade, Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which lost 9.25% to settle at 261.60 and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) which was down 6.29% to 22.49 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Chardan Nextech Acquisition 2 Corp (NASDAQ:CNTQ) which rose 106.02% to 21.90, Nauticus Robotics Inc (NASDAQ:KITT) which was up 96.27% to settle at 6.32 and Pineapple Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PEGY) which gained 93.01% to close at 2.76.

The worst performers were Bit Brother Ltd (NASDAQ:BTB) which was down 42.97% to 0.18 in late trade, Avenue Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ATXI) which lost 41.59% to settle at 8.47 and Scienjoy Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SJ) which was down 36.99% to 1.38 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2101 to 992 and 101 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2317 fell and 1448 advanced, while 168 ended unchanged.

Shares in Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) fell to 5-year lows; falling 6.29% or 1.51 to 22.49. Shares in Chardan Nextech Acquisition 2 Corp (NASDAQ:CNTQ) rose to all time highs; up 106.02% or 11.27 to 21.90. Shares in Scienjoy Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SJ) fell to all time lows; down 36.99% or 0.81 to 1.38.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.79% to 28.55.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.29% or 5.05 to $1,725.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.76% or 1.52 to hit $88.04 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 2.07% or 1.90 to trade at $93.70 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.97% to 0.99, while USD/JPY rose 0.35% to 144.60.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 1.01% at 111.09.