U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.31%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.31%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.08%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.02%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which rose 2.24% or 3.64 points to trade at 165.80 at the close. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 1.74% or 0.66 points to end at 38.56 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was up 1.37% or 1.99 points to 147.27 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 3.37% or 18.17 points to trade at 521.51 at the close. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) declined 3.16% or 0.76 points to end at 23.27 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was down 2.23% or 4.96 points to 217.70.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp Class A (NASDAQ:CTSH) which rose 4.13% to 77.97, Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) which was up 4.02% to settle at 54.85 and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) which gained 2.94% to close at 481.08.

The worst performers were United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) which was down 10.63% to 39.78 in late trade, American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which lost 9.46% to settle at 13.21 and Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) which was down 8.97% to 38.47 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Charge Enterprises Inc (NASDAQ:CRGE) which rose 179.56% to 0.23, Applied UV Inc (NASDAQ:AUVI) which was up 67.11% to settle at 3.81 and Atreca Inc (NASDAQ:BCEL) which gained 52.63% to close at 0.36.

The worst performers were Sealsq Corp (NASDAQ:LAES) which was down 28.71% to 2.26 in late trade, Nukkleus Inc (NASDAQ:NUKK) which lost 27.10% to settle at 1.56 and Minim Inc (NASDAQ:MINM) which was down 27.03% to 2.97 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1531 to 1322 and 74 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1857 fell and 1558 advanced, while 132 ended unchanged.

Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp Class A (NASDAQ:CTSH) rose to 52-week highs; rising 4.13% or 3.09 to 77.97. Shares in Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) rose to 52-week highs; up 4.02% or 2.12 to 54.85. Shares in International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) rose to 5-year highs; rising 2.24% or 3.64 to 165.80. Shares in Nukkleus Inc (NASDAQ:NUKK) fell to all time lows; falling 27.10% or 0.58 to 1.56.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.09% to 12.70.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 1.64% or 33.15 to $2,052.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 1.07% or 0.77 to hit $72.79 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.25% or 0.97 to trade at $78.38 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.18% to 1.10, while USD/JPY fell 0.25% to 144.92.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.16% at 102.19.