U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.98%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.98%, while the S&P 500 index declined 1.34%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.62%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which rose 2.54% or 3.72 points to trade at 149.98 at the close. Meanwhile, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) added 1.94% or 4.86 points to end at 256.00 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was up 0.79% or 1.33 points to 168.92 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), which fell 7.00% or 1.60 points to trade at 21.25 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 4.95% or 13.49 points to end at 259.16 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was down 2.39% or 2.16 points to 88.39.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were DexCom Inc (NASDAQ:DXCM) which rose 4.51% to 84.12, Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) which was up 3.99% to settle at 51.92 and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) which gained 3.82% to close at 95.66.

The worst performers were Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) which was down 9.79% to 152.88 in late trade, United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) which lost 9.67% to settle at 36.24 and JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) which was down 8.87% to 178.63 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Falcon’s Beyond Global Inc (NASDAQ:FBYD) which rose 75.43% to 21.49, SeaStar Medical Holding Corp (NASDAQ:ICU) which was up 70.05% to settle at 0.77 and Shift Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFT) which gained 58.12% to close at 0.17.

The worst performers were Nuzee Inc (NASDAQ:NUZE) which was down 44.04% to 2.91 in late trade, Color Star Technology Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ADD) which lost 32.27% to settle at 0.37 and Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BAER) which was down 28.96% to 4.36 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2369 to 564 and 62 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2629 fell and 828 advanced, while 127 ended unchanged.

Shares in Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) fell to 52-week lows; losing 9.79% or 16.59 to 152.88. Shares in United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) fell to 52-week lows; losing 9.67% or 3.88 to 36.24. Shares in Falcon’s Beyond Global Inc (NASDAQ:FBYD) rose to all time highs; up 75.43% or 9.24 to 21.49. Shares in Nuzee Inc (NASDAQ:NUZE) fell to 5-year lows; losing 44.04% or 2.29 to 2.91. Shares in Color Star Technology Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ADD) fell to all time lows; falling 32.27% or 0.17 to 0.37.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 7.49% to 19.22.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 1.37% or 26.55 to $1,962.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 2.00% or 1.71 to hit $87.15 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 1.57% or 1.41 to trade at $91.31 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.36% to 1.05, while USD/JPY rose 0.07% to 149.90.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.30% at 106.36.