Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Financials and Industrials sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Telecoms, Oil & Gas and Utilities sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.11%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.18%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.31%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which rose 1.16% or 0.89 points to trade at 77.49 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) added 0.92% or 1.08 points to end at 118.54 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was up 0.69% or 1.23 points to 178.49 in late trade.
Biggest losers included UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which lost 1.82% or 2.92 points to trade at 157.74 in late trade. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) declined 1.24% or 1.08 points to end at 86.28 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) shed 0.93% or 0.49 points to 52.25.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) which rose 5.81% to 51.06, Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE:MJN) which was up 5.33% to settle at 75.25 and Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) which gained 3.72% to close at 62.38.
The worst performers were Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which was down 5.85% to 46.53 in late trade, Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) which lost 5.77% to settle at 66.85 and Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) which was down 4.72% to 83.99 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Apricus Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:APRI) which rose 90.67% to 2.860, Uni-Pixel Inc (NASDAQ:UNXL) which was up 34.13% to settle at 1.6900 and aTyr Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:LIFE) which gained 32.65% to close at 3.250.
The worst performers were EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ:ETRM) which was down 36.85% to 5.6200 in late trade, Pulmatrix Inc (NASDAQ:PULM) which lost 34.84% to settle at 1.010 and Benitec Biopharma Ltd (NASDAQ:BNTC) which was down 21.51% to 2.3547 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1706 to 1497 and 40 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1422 rose and 1095 declined, while 108 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 4.89% to 12.45.
In commodities trading, Gold for February delivery was down 0.72% or 8.70 to $1204.20 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 2.15% or 1.13 to hit $51.35 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 2.22% or 1.23 to trade at $54.24 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.71% to 1.0636, while USD/JPY rose 1.63% to 114.45.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.98% at 101.24.