U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.11%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.11%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.11%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.23%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 3.00% or 10.96 points to trade at 375.79 at the close. Meanwhile, Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) added 1.18% or 0.70 points to end at 59.99 and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was up 1.07% or 2.02 points to 190.90 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 8.22% or 3.61 points to trade at 40.33 at the close. Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) declined 3.13% or 3.84 points to end at 118.98 and Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 2.75% or 4.42 points to 156.15.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PARA) which rose 14.97% to 13.52, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) which was up 6.70% to settle at 145.62 and NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) which gained 4.97% to close at 72.01.

The worst performers were Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) which was down 15.34% to 439.98 in late trade, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) which lost 8.22% to settle at 40.33 and Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) which was down 4.12% to 146.48 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were ARCA Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ABIO) which rose 90.06% to 3.25, Kintara Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:KTRA) which was up 63.35% to settle at 0.16 and Mediaco Holding Inc (NASDAQ:MDIA) which gained 52.33% to close at 1.31.

The worst performers were Casa Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CASA) which was down 78.64% to 0.06 in late trade, A SPAC I Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:ASCA) which lost 67.14% to settle at 3.01 and Jiuzi Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:JZXN) which was down 60.27% to 1.49 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1651 to 1193 and 75 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1745 rose and 1583 declined, while 142 ended unchanged.

Shares in NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.97% or 3.41 to 72.01. Shares in Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) rose to all time highs; up 3.00% or 10.96 to 375.79. Shares in Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) rose to 52-week highs; up 1.18% or 0.70 to 59.99. Shares in ARCA Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ABIO) rose to 52-week highs; up 90.06% or 1.54 to 3.25. Shares in Casa Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CASA) fell to all time lows; down 78.64% or 0.20 to 0.06. Shares in A SPAC I Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:ASCA) fell to all time lows; falling 67.14% or 6.15 to 3.01.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.92% to 14.33.

Gold Futures for June delivery was up 1.64% or 37.35 to $2,319.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 0.54% or 0.46 to hit $85.61 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.64% or 0.57 to trade at $89.49 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.62% to 1.08, while USD/JPY rose 0.10% to 151.70.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.53% at 104.01.