U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.27%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.27%, while the S&P 500 index declined 1.47%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 1.50%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which fell 0.60% or 1.74 points to trade at 288.99 at the close. Meanwhile, Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) fell 0.62% or 0.34 points to end at 54.58 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.71% or 2.64 points to 370.62 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which fell 2.83% or 2.66 points to trade at 91.27 at the close. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) declined 2.75% or 5.10 points to end at 180.65 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was down 2.43% or 2.58 points to 103.67.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) which rose 1.29% to 77.24, Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) which was up 1.24% to settle at 138.34 and Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG) which gained 1.13% to close at 139.66.

The worst performers were FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) which was down 12.05% to 246.25 in late trade, Aon PLC (NYSE:AON) which lost 6.04% to settle at 294.12 and Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) which was down 5.70% to 46.36 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Parazero Technologies Ltd Unit (NASDAQ:PRZO) which rose 75.69% to 1.23, Ebang International Holdings (NASDAQ:EBON) which was up 52.75% to settle at 12.48 and Riskon International Inc (NASDAQ:ROI) which gained 41.81% to close at 0.20.

The worst performers were Sportsmap Tech Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:MSAI) which was down 64.31% to 2.62 in late trade, Bluebird bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLUE) which lost 45.68% to settle at 1.32 and Esports Entertainment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GMBL) which was down 41.18% to 0.01 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2279 to 628 and 54 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2476 fell and 975 advanced, while 95 ended unchanged.

Shares in Sportsmap Tech Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:MSAI) fell to all time lows; down 64.31% or 4.72 to 2.62. Shares in Ebang International Holdings (NASDAQ:EBON) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 52.75% or 4.31 to 12.48. Shares in Bluebird bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLUE) fell to all time lows; down 45.68% or 1.11 to 1.32.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 9.10% to 13.67 a new 1-month high.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.44% or 9.00 to $2,043.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.15% or 0.11 to hit $73.83 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 0.05% or 0.04 to trade at $79.19 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.37% to 1.09, while USD/JPY fell 0.14% to 143.63.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.29% at 102.09.