U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.02%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.02%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.47%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.66%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 3.81% or 9.12 points to trade at 248.67 at the close. Meanwhile, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) added 2.29% or 2.47 points to end at 110.21 and Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) was up 2.29% or 3.74 points to 167.35 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 1.94% or 5.75 points to trade at 290.79 at the close. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined 1.42% or 2.10 points to end at 145.31 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was down 1.39% or 1.98 points to 140.15.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) which rose 5.74% to 139.29, Freeport-McMoran Copper&Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which was up 4.95% to settle at 43.00 and Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) which gained 4.56% to close at 107.24.

The worst performers were Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW) which was down 5.56% to 194.31 in late trade, Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) which lost 5.00% to settle at 3.23 and Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE) which was down 4.59% to 142.91 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Arcadia Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:RKDA) which rose 1,000.00% to 8.60, Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RETA) which was up 198.91% to settle at 93.17 and Cardio Diagnostics Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CDIO) which gained 91.30% to close at 6.60.

The worst performers were Performance Shipping Inc (NASDAQ:PSHG) which was down 56.88% to 1.16 in late trade, China Jo-Jo Drugstores Inc (NASDAQ:CJJD) which lost 47.45% to settle at 3.92 and Xometry Inc (NASDAQ:XMTR) which was down 39.49% to 18.40 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1625 to 1396 and 108 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2067 fell and 1577 advanced, while 163 ended unchanged.

Shares in Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) fell to 5-year lows; falling 5.00% or 0.17 to 3.23. Shares in Arcadia Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:RKDA) rose to 3-years highs; rising 1,000.00% or 8.35 to 8.60. Shares in Performance Shipping Inc (NASDAQ:PSHG) fell to all time lows; down 56.88% or 1.53 to 1.16. Shares in Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RETA) rose to 52-week highs; up 198.91% or 62.00 to 93.17. Shares in Xometry Inc (NASDAQ:XMTR) fell to all time lows; falling 39.49% or 12.01 to 18.40.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.58% to 20.58.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.42% or 7.75 to $1,844.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.83% or 0.64 to hit $77.69 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 1.09% or 0.91 to trade at $84.36 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.86% to 1.07, while USD/JPY fell 0.02% to 136.18.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.44% at 104.36.