Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Healthcare, Utilities and Technology sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Telecoms, Financials and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.10%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.02%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.07%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which rose 1.34% or 1.38 points to trade at 104.56 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.28% or 0.94 points to end at 74.34 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was up 1.19% or 2.41 points to 204.46 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which lost 4.37% or 4.44 points to trade at 97.06 in late trade. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) declined 3.61% or 0.90 points to end at 24.02 and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) shed 1.75% or 1.58 points to 88.53.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) which rose 6.14% to 81.780, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) which was up 4.96% to settle at 62.84 and Perrigo Co (NYSE:PRGO) which gained 4.93% to close at 82.19.
The worst performers were Leggett & Platt Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) which was down 6.53% to 43.50 in late trade, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) which lost 6.24% to settle at 38.60 and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) which was down 5.66% to 471.92 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were NewLink Genetics Corporation (NASDAQ:NLNK) which rose 74.58% to 13.60, Verona Pharma PLC ADR (NASDAQ:VRNA) which was up 39.33% to settle at 16.66 and ESSA Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:EPIX) which gained 37.50% to close at 0.440.
The worst performers were Gulf Resources Inc (NASDAQ:GURE) which was down 17.59% to 1.640 in late trade, LM Funding America Inc (NASDAQ:LMFA) which lost 15.95% to settle at 1.82 and Federated National Holding Company (NASDAQ:FNHC) which was down 15.73% to 10.55 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1606 to 1479 and 153 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1330 fell and 1169 advanced, while 149 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.43% to 11.58.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for December delivery was up 1.10% or 14.77 to $1353.77 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 0.06% or 0.03 to hit $49.13 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.59% or 0.32 to trade at $54.52 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.91% to 1.2025, while USD/JPY fell 0.70% to 108.47.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.80% at 91.47.