U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.76%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.76%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.76%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.96%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 1.72% or 8.17 points to trade at 484.41 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 0.98% or 1.07 points to end at 109.86 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was up 1.00% or 1.77 points to 179.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 3.91% or 12.67 points to trade at 311.02 at the close. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) declined 3.53% or 4.33 points to end at 118.42 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 2.36% or 3.55 points to 146.87.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Comerica Inc (NYSE:CMA) which rose 5.91% to 69.84, M&T Bank Corp (NYSE:MTB) which was up 5.49% to settle at 153.80 and Truist Financial Corp (NYSE:TFC) which gained 4.29% to close at 47.70.

The worst performers were Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which was down 10.92% to 222.97 in late trade, SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) which lost 10.32% to settle at 286.72 and Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) which was down 8.60% to 90.46 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Neurosense Therapeutics Ltd (NASDAQ:NRSN) which rose 77.60% to 2.22, Salarius Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SLRX) which was up 52.99% to settle at 3.58 and Cuentas Inc (NASDAQ:CUEN) which gained 40.48% to close at 0.59.

The worst performers were Jupiter Wellness Inc (NASDAQ:JUPW) which was down 38.81% to 0.62 in late trade, Aceragen Inc (NASDAQ:ACGN) which lost 33.33% to settle at 5.76 and SurModics Inc (NASDAQ:SRDX) which was down 29.35% to 26.38 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1844 to 1196 and 90 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2328 fell and 1372 advanced, while 160 ended unchanged.

Shares in SurModics Inc (NASDAQ:SRDX) fell to 52-week lows; losing 29.35% or 10.96 to 26.38.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.88% to 20.52.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 1.41% or 26.95 to $1,933.95 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 1.19% or 0.95 to hit $80.75 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.49% or 1.27 to trade at $86.25 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.38% to 1.08, while USD/JPY fell 0.38% to 128.38.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.28% at 101.82.