Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Financials, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Consumer Goods, Utilities and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.32% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.22%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.01%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 2.05% or 5.13 points to trade at 255.42 at the close. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) added 1.81% or 1.83 points to end at 102.98 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was up 1.56% or 2.17 points to 141.12 in late trade.
Biggest losers included McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which lost 1.14% or 1.82 points to trade at 157.93 in late trade. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) declined 1.14% or 0.88 points to end at 76.59 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shed 1.01% or 1.31 points to 127.80.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were WW Grainger Inc (NYSE:GWW) which rose 11.16% to 338.99, United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) which was up 8.79% to settle at 79.00 and CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) which gained 7.08% to close at 69.00.
The worst performers were Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) which was down 4.07% to 129.53 in late trade, Molson Coors Brewing Co Class B (NYSE:TAP) which lost 3.96% to settle at 64.35 and Dentsply Sirona Inc (NASDAQ:XRAY) which was down 3.19% to 44.24 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Precipio Inc (NASDAQ:PRPO) which rose 30.90% to 0.4778, Staffing 360 Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:STAF) which was up 29.24% to settle at 3.050 and Vermillion Inc (NASDAQ:VRML) which gained 22.39% to close at 0.710.
The worst performers were CTi Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ:CTIC) which was down 43.36% to 2.260 in late trade, China Customer Relations Centers Inc (NASDAQ:CCRC) which lost 22.07% to settle at 8.79 and Medigus Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:MDGS) which was down 16.33% to 3.690 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1655 to 1396 and 129 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1356 rose and 1184 declined, while 134 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.17% to 12.04 a new 1-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.03% or 0.40 to $1227.70 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.04% or 0.70 to hit $67.86 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.14% or 0.82 to trade at $72.98 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.15% to 1.1642, while USD/JPY fell 0.04% to 112.85.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.12% at 94.84.