U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.35%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Consumer Services, Industrials and Financials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.35% to hit a new 3-months low, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.84%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.37%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 3.53% or 2.98 points to trade at 87.51 at the close. Meanwhile, Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) added 1.74% or 2.85 points to end at 166.12 and Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) was up 1.69% or 2.49 points to 150.12 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which fell 3.82% or 5.68 points to trade at 143.03 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 3.22% or 4.62 points to end at 138.67 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was down 2.53% or 8.12 points to 312.59.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) which rose 5.01% to 311.32, Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) which was up 3.53% to settle at 87.51 and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) which gained 2.62% to close at 71.28.

The worst performers were Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) which was down 9.44% to 37.62 in late trade, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) which lost 8.64% to settle at 49.24 and FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE:FDS) which was down 8.35% to 394.51 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Spero Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SPRO) which rose 167.74% to 2.20, Avenue Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ATXI) which was up 105.90% to settle at 0.44 and Panbela Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PBLA) which gained 46.39% to close at 0.35.

The worst performers were Top Ships Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS) which was down 44.06% to 0.12 in late trade, Ecmoho Ltd (NASDAQ:MOHO) which lost 42.72% to settle at 0.10 and Pintec Technology Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:PT) which was down 28.80% to 0.42 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2598 to 539 and 123 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 3049 fell and 761 advanced, while 209 ended unchanged.

Shares in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) fell to 3-years lows; down 8.64% or 4.66 to 49.24. Shares in Top Ships Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS) fell to all time lows; losing 44.06% or 0.09 to 0.12. Shares in Ecmoho Ltd (NASDAQ:MOHO) fell to all time lows; down 42.72% or 0.07 to 0.10. Shares in Pintec Technology Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:PT) fell to all time lows; falling 28.80% or 0.17 to 0.42.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.29% to 27.35.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.24% or 4.00 to $1,679.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 0.54% or 0.45 to hit $83.39 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.50% or 0.45 to trade at $90.28 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.04% to 0.98, while USD/JPY fell 1.14% to 142.40.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.66% at 111.07.