U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.33%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Healthcare, Consumer Goods and Technology sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil&Gas, Telecoms and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.33% to hit a new 6-months high, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.10%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.18%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 7.27% or 32.56 points to trade at 480.31 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 0.99% or 1.05 points to end at 107.37 and Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) was up 0.94% or 0.57 points to 60.92 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which fell 2.50% or 3.93 points to trade at 153.58 at the close. Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) declined 2.38% or 1.29 points to end at 52.92 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was down 2.25% or 1.16 points to 50.37.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) which rose 7.27% to 480.31, Elevance Health Inc (NYSE:ELV) which was up 5.01% to settle at 438.54 and Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) which gained 4.79% to close at 283.00.

The worst performers were State Street Corp (NYSE:STT) which was down 12.10% to 68.09 in late trade, DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) which lost 7.16% to settle at 6.61 and Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) which was down 6.67% to 42.52 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Frequency Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FREQ) which rose 77.48% to 0.71, EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp II (NASDAQ:EDTX) which was up 46.29% to settle at 63.24 and Ainos Inc (NASDAQ:AIMD) which gained 43.84% to close at 1.05.

The worst performers were Theseus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:THRX) which was down 72.06% to 2.66 in late trade, Canopy Growth Corp (NASDAQ:CGC) which lost 40.91% to settle at 0.38 and Vivos Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VVOS) which was down 37.39% to 0.32 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2205 to 752 and 69 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2489 fell and 1100 advanced, while 115 ended unchanged.

Shares in Theseus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:THRX) fell to all time lows; falling 72.06% or 6.86 to 2.66. Shares in EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp II (NASDAQ:EDTX) rose to all time highs; gaining 46.29% or 20.01 to 63.24. Shares in Vivos Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VVOS) fell to all time lows; falling 37.39% or 0.19 to 0.32.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.98% to 13.34.

Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.20% or 3.95 to $1,959.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 2.13% or 1.64 to hit $75.25 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 2.09% or 1.70 to trade at $79.66 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.02% to 1.12, while USD/JPY rose 0.58% to 138.84.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.21% at 99.67.