U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.34%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Monday, as gains in the Technology, Basic Materials and Utilities sectors led shares higher while losses in the Healthcare, Telecoms and Oil&Gas sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.08%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.63%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 4.68% or 6.58 points to trade at 147.09 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 2.02% or 0.58 points to end at 29.31 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 1.41% or 4.92 points to 353.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 3.88% or 4.46 points to trade at 110.38 at the close. Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declined 2.60% or 4.68 points to end at 175.57 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was down 2.44% or 4.73 points to 189.14.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) which rose 5.93% to 119.77, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) which was up 5.90% to settle at 13.81 and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which gained 5.18% to close at 156.28.

The worst performers were Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) which was down 7.74% to 44.70 in late trade, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) which lost 7.69% to settle at 680.49 and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) which was down 4.99% to 495.41 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were CinCor Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:CINC) which rose 143.97% to 28.74, Amryt Pharma Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:AMYT) which was up 106.99% to settle at 14.51 and Albireo Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ALBO) which gained 92.16% to close at 43.85.

The worst performers were Calithera Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CALA) which was down 81.77% to 0.66 in late trade, Peak Bio Inc (NASDAQ:PKBO) which lost 27.27% to settle at 2.56 and Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) which was down 28.04% to 2.72 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1872 to 1197 and 98 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2196 rose and 1578 declined, while 141 ended unchanged.

Shares in Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) fell to 5-year lows; falling 7.74% or 3.75 to 44.70. Shares in Calithera Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CALA) fell to all time lows; losing 81.77% or 2.96 to 0.66. Shares in Amryt Pharma Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:AMYT) rose to 52-week highs; rising 106.99% or 7.50 to 14.51. Shares in Peak Bio Inc (NASDAQ:PKBO) fell to all time lows; down 27.27% or 0.96 to 2.56. Shares in Albireo Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ALBO) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 92.16% or 21.03 to 43.85. Shares in Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) fell to 5-year lows; down 28.04% or 1.06 to 2.72.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 3.98% to 21.97.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.33% or 6.10 to $1,875.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 1.44% or 1.06 to hit $74.83 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.46% or 1.15 to trade at $79.72 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.83% to 1.07, while USD/JPY fell 0.19% to 131.82.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.68% at 102.94.