Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Telecoms, Utilities and Healthcare sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Consumer Services, Technology and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.43% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.37%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.05%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 2.52% or 10.71 points to trade at 435.09 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 2.41% or 1.26 points to end at 53.61 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 2.12% or 3.30 points to 158.69 in late trade.
Biggest losers included McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which lost 1.26% or 3.05 points to trade at 239.72 in late trade. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) declined 1.04% or 4.27 points to end at 407.89 and Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) shed 0.90% or 2.10 points to 231.42.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM) which rose 7.70% to 424.05, People’s United Financial Inc (NASDAQ:PBCT) which was up 5.85% to settle at 18.81 and M&T Bank Corp (NYSE:MTB) which gained 5.78% to close at 160.41.
The worst performers were Baker Hughes Co (NYSE:BKR) which was down 5.66% to 25.35 in late trade, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) which lost 4.91% to settle at 258.36 and Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) which was down 4.64% to 199.16 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Xiaobai Maimai Inc (NASDAQ:HX) which rose 98.42% to 18.8700, Sesen Bio Inc (NASDAQ:SESN) which was up 25.74% to settle at 1.270 and Puhui Wealth Investment Management Co Ltd (NASDAQ:PHCF) which gained 22.66% to close at 2.490.
The worst performers were Vinco Ventures Inc (NASDAQ:BBIG) which was down 17.99% to 6.380 in late trade, Grove Inc (NASDAQ:GRVI) which lost 15.45% to settle at 6.46 and ALJ Regional Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ALJJ) which was down 15.38% to 0.9900 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2183 to 1006 and 151 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2041 rose and 1529 declined, while 204 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.34% to 15.49 a new 1-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.74% or 13.05 to $1783.55 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 1.21% or 1.00 to hit $83.44 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 0.86% or 0.73 to trade at $85.81 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.15% to 1.1650, while USD/JPY fell 0.04% to 114.32.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.14% at 93.600.