Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Utilities, Telecoms and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Healthcare sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.17%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.05%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.26%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), which rose 3.03% or 3.31 points to trade at 112.58 at the close. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble Company (N:PG) added 2.33% or 1.75 points to end at 76.73 and McDonald`s Corporation (N:MCD) was up 2.01% or 2.32 points to 117.50 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corporation (N:CVX), which fell 2.58% or 2.16 points to trade at 81.51 at the close. EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (N:DD) declined 1.61% or 0.87 points to end at 53.22 and Exxon Mobil Corporation (N:XOM) was down 1.59% or 1.23 points to 76.35.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Viacom B Inc (O:VIAB) which rose 4.69% to 41.72, Tenet Healthcare Corporation (N:THC) which was up 4.03% to settle at 24.01 and Netflix Inc (O:NFLX) which gained 3.70% to close at 107.89.
The worst performers were Chesapeake Energy Corporation (N:CHK) which was down 13.48% to 3.08 in late trade, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (N:FCX) which lost 8.97% to settle at 3.96 and Ensco PLC (N:ESV) which was down 8.54% to 9.42 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Biotie Therapies Oyj (O:BITI) which rose 88.66% to 24.62, Nxt-Id Inc (O:NXTD) which was up 69.86% to settle at 1.24 and Ultrapetrol Ltd (O:ULTR) which gained 33.71% to close at 0.083.
The worst performers were Eleven Biothera (O:EBIO) which was down 77.78% to 0.52 in late trade, FreeSeas Inc (O:FREE) which lost 40.25% to settle at 0.263 and Hortonworks Inc (O:HDP) which was down 36.99% to 10.44 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2283 to 1145 and 1 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1758 fell and 905 advanced, while 37 ended unchanged.
Shares in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (N:CHK) fell to 5-year lows; down 13.48% or 0.48 to 3.08. Shares in Ensco PLC (N:ESV) fell to 5-year lows; losing 8.54% or 0.88 to 9.42. Shares in Biotie Therapies Oyj (O:BITI) rose to all time highs; rising 88.66% or 11.57 to 24.62. Shares in Eleven Biothera (O:EBIO) fell to all time lows; losing 77.78% or 1.82 to 0.52. Shares in FreeSeas Inc (O:FREE) fell to 52-week lows; down 40.25% or 0.177 to 0.263. Shares in Hortonworks Inc (O:HDP) fell to all time lows; losing 36.99% or 6.13 to 10.44.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.15% to 25.90.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.38% or 4.10 to $1086.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 2.98% or 0.91 to hit $29.48 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 0.84% or 0.24 to trade at $28.79 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.22% to 1.0917, while USD/JPY rose 0.20% to 117.56.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.06% at 99.11.