U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.08%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Utilities, Oil&Gas and Technology sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.08%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.28%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.42%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 1.28% or 6.24 points to trade at 492.12 at the close. Meanwhile, Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) added 1.27% or 2.52 points to end at 201.00 and JPMorgan Chase&Co (NYSE:JPM) was up 0.51% or 0.99 points to 195.81 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), which fell 2.11% or 2.21 points to trade at 102.63 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 2.03% or 3.88 points to end at 187.53 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was down 1.24% or 1.16 points to 92.58.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were McCormick&Company Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) which rose 10.57% to 77.33, Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) which was up 7.38% to settle at 94.72 and Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) which gained 4.88% to close at 68.15.

The worst performers were United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS) which was down 8.16% to 143.79 in late trade, International Paper (NYSE:IP) which lost 6.44% to settle at 38.22 and APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) which was down 4.94% to 32.88 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Mesoblast Ltd (NASDAQ:MESO) which rose 78.64% to 3.93, Stoke Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:STOK) which was up 58.31% to settle at 10.29 and OpGen Inc (NASDAQ:OPGN) which gained 57.86% to close at 0.75.

The worst performers were Quhuo Ltd (NASDAQ:QH) which was down 52.76% to 0.60 in late trade, NeuBase Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:NBSE) which lost 52.37% to settle at 0.47 and Apptech Corp (NASDAQ:APCX) which was down 43.02% to 0.94 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1548 to 1310 and 75 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1946 fell and 1438 advanced, while 107 ended unchanged.

Shares in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 4.88% or 3.17 to 68.15. Shares in Quhuo Ltd (NASDAQ:QH) fell to all time lows; down 52.76% or 0.67 to 0.60. Shares in NeuBase Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:NBSE) fell to all time lows; falling 52.37% or 0.52 to 0.47. Shares in Apptech Corp (NASDAQ:APCX) fell to 52-week lows; losing 43.02% or 0.71 to 0.94.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.38% to 13.24.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.01% or 0.15 to $2,176.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.65% or 0.53 to hit $81.42 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract fell 0.80% or 0.69 to trade at $85.39 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.05% to 1.08, while USD/JPY rose 0.11% to 151.57.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 104.01.