U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.26%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.26% to hit a new 1-month low, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.16%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.13%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 1.08% or 1.74 points to trade at 163.36 at the close. Meanwhile, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) added 0.70% or 1.22 points to end at 174.70 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 0.47% or 0.87 points to 186.12 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 2.26% or 0.59 points to trade at 25.47 at the close. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 2.10% or 3.09 points to end at 144.24 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 1.17% or 2.82 points to 237.89.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) which rose 5.41% to 53.99, Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) which was up 4.54% to settle at 15.42 and Garmin Ltd (NYSE:GRMN) which gained 4.09% to close at 97.80.

The worst performers were Keysight Technologies Inc (NYSE:KEYS) which was down 12.73% to 159.69 in late trade, Charles River Laboratories (NYSE:CRL) which lost 10.09% to settle at 219.03 and SBA Communications Corp (NASDAQ:SBAC) which was down 5.06% to 259.00 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Intuitive Machines Inc (NASDAQ:LUNR) which rose 116.39% to 81.99, Ecarx Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ECX) which was up 95.88% to settle at 6.66 and Windtree Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:WINT) which gained 47.06% to close at 0.25.

The worst performers were Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd DRC (NASDAQ:QNRX) which was down 48.12% to 0.62 in late trade, Farmmi Inc (NASDAQ:FAMI) which lost 40.95% to settle at 0.54 and Amesite Operating Co (NASDAQ:AMST) which was down 36.60% to 2.62 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1580 to 1437 and 80 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1871 fell and 1761 advanced, while 168 ended unchanged.

Shares in Intuitive Machines Inc (NASDAQ:LUNR) rose to all time highs; rising 116.39% or 44.10 to 81.99. Shares in Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd DRC (NASDAQ:QNRX) fell to all time lows; losing 48.12% or 0.57 to 0.62. Shares in Amesite Operating Co (NASDAQ:AMST) fell to 52-week highs; losing 36.60% or 1.51 to 2.62.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.54% to 22.29.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.45% or 8.25 to $1,834.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 3.21% or 2.45 to hit $73.91 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 3.09% or 2.57 to trade at $80.48 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.42% to 1.06, while USD/JPY fell 0.04% to 134.93.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.37% at 104.50.