U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.01%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Healthcare and Oil&Gas sectors led shares higher while losses in the Industrials, Technology and Financials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.01% to hit a new 52-week high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.03%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.22%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 1.95% or 0.65 points to trade at 34.02 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.76% or 1.91 points to end at 110.37 and Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 1.59% or 2.39 points to 152.95 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which fell 3.89% or 6.89 points to trade at 170.22 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 1.28% or 3.34 points to end at 257.75 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.89% or 3.10 points to 343.77.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) which rose 6.95% to 183.53, Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) which was up 4.69% to settle at 255.83 and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (NYSE:TMO) which gained 4.48% to close at 562.40.

The worst performers were Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) which was down 13.25% to 32.90 in late trade, Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE:OMC) which lost 4.98% to settle at 83.78 and Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) which was down 4.72% to 36.11 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DWAC) which rose 50.30% to 20.08, Fresh Tracks Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FRTX) which was up 39.69% to settle at 0.95 and Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd DRC (NASDAQ:QNRX) which gained 39.63% to close at 9.09.

The worst performers were Sigma Labs Inc (NASDAQ:SASI) which was down 41.01% to 0.23 in late trade, Knightscope Inc (NASDAQ:KSCP) which lost 26.38% to settle at 1.20 and Redhill Biopharma Ltd (NASDAQ:RDHL) which was down 25.95% to 1.37 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1486 to 1463 and 80 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1920 fell and 1564 advanced, while 159 ended unchanged.

Shares in Sigma Labs Inc (NASDAQ:SASI) fell to 5-year lows; down 41.01% or 0.16 to 0.23.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.79% to 13.60.

Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.34% or 6.75 to $1,964.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.68% or 1.27 to hit $76.92 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.52% or 1.21 to trade at $80.85 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.00% to 1.11, while USD/JPY rose 1.18% to 141.72.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.17% at 100.77.