U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.42%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.42%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.15%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.09%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 0.89% or 1.05 points to trade at 118.43 at the close. Meanwhile, Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) added 0.67% or 1.06 points to end at 159.31 and Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 0.41% or 0.61 points to 149.30 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which fell 2.54% or 3.80 points to trade at 145.70 at the close. Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) declined 2.07% or 1.14 points to end at 53.94 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was down 2.05% or 1.88 points to 89.67.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Juniper Networks Inc (NYSE:JNPR) which rose 21.81% to 36.81, Catalent Inc (NYSE:CTLT) which was up 5.87% to settle at 49.40 and Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which gained 4.55% to close at 139.74.

The worst performers were Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) which was down 8.92% to 16.14 in late trade, Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) which lost 7.75% to settle at 58.00 and Charles River Laboratories (NYSE:CRL) which was down 5.17% to 215.19 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sentage Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SNTG) which rose 62.91% to 3.47, Zoomcar Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ZCAR) which was up 60.96% to settle at 6.39 and Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp IV (NASDAQ:MCAF) which gained 48.14% to close at 21.48.

The worst performers were Denali Capital Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DECA) which was down 35.44% to 7.05 in late trade, Elicio Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ELTX) which lost 30.31% to settle at 5.45 and Top KingWin Ltd (NASDAQ:TCJH) which was down 29.06% to 0.83 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2042 to 814 and 78 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2223 fell and 1192 advanced, while 101 ended unchanged.

Shares in Juniper Networks Inc (NYSE:JNPR) rose to 52-week highs; rising 21.81% or 6.59 to 36.81. Shares in Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) rose to all time highs; up 0.89% or 1.05 to 118.43. Shares in Denali Capital Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DECA) fell to all time lows; down 35.44% or 3.87 to 7.05. Shares in Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp IV (NASDAQ:MCAF) rose to all time highs; rising 48.14% or 6.98 to 21.48. Shares in Top KingWin Ltd (NASDAQ:TCJH) fell to all time lows; losing 29.06% or 0.34 to 0.83.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.45% to 12.76.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.09% or 1.85 to $2,035.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 2.05% or 1.45 to hit $72.22 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.88% or 1.43 to trade at $77.55 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.17% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.18% to 144.49.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.31% at 102.25.