Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Technology, Utilities and Telecoms sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Healthcare, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.13% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.18%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.45%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 2.01% or 2.06 points to trade at 104.58 at the close. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) added 1.08% or 0.73 points to end at 68.09 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 0.98% or 1.10 points to 113.92 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which lost 1.86% or 0.56 points to trade at 29.54 in late trade. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 1.24% or 0.66 points to end at 52.42 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) shed 0.95% or 1.46 points to 152.03.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE:MJN) which rose 11.06% to 83.78, Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) which was up 3.82% to settle at 31.83 and EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) which gained 3.10% to close at 62.58.
The worst performers were Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which was down 22.60% to 32.57 in late trade, Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which lost 14.51% to settle at 59.51 and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) which was down 7.07% to 25.37 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Celator Pharm (NASDAQ:CPXX) which rose 432.14% to 8.94, Skyline Medical Inc (NASDAQ:SKLN) which was up 46.07% to settle at 0.2600 and RLJ Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:RLJE) which gained 43.95% to close at 0.7500.
The worst performers were Quantum Fuel Systems Inc (NASDAQ:QTWW) which was down 56.16% to 0.3595 in late trade, Linn Co LLC (NASDAQ:LNCO) which lost 41.71% to settle at 0.3900 and Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ZYNE) which was down 31.53% to 14.40 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 2428 to 912 and 28 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1951 fell and 649 advanced, while 44 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.30% to 16.97.
In commodities trading, Gold for April delivery was down 0.93% or 11.60 to $1233.50 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 2.12% or 0.79 to hit $36.39 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 2.05% or 0.81 to trade at $38.72 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.05% to 1.1109, while USD/JPY fell 0.59% to 113.16.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.06% at 96.66.