U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.02%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Consumer Goods, Financials and Technology sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.02% to hit a new 1-month low, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.54%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 1.40%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW), which rose 5.17% or 2.96 points to trade at 60.18 at the close. Meanwhile, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) added 2.02% or 2.68 points to end at 135.37 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 1.82% or 1.44 points to 80.58 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 7.04% or 3.64 points to trade at 48.05 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 2.33% or 4.52 points to end at 189.75 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 1.95% or 3.42 points to 171.90.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) which rose 9.14% to 528.69, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) which was up 8.57% to settle at 93.99 and Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) which gained 7.65% to close at 103.68.

The worst performers were Teradyne Inc (NASDAQ:TER) which was down 22.41% to 111.24 in late trade, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) which lost 11.55% to settle at 829.10 and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) which was down 7.33% to 102.60 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were National Security Group Inc (NASDAQ:NSEC) which rose 69.65% to 15.65, Sidus Space Inc (NASDAQ:SIDU) which was up 31.55% to settle at 10.80 and Galapagos NV ADR (NASDAQ:GLPG) which gained 22.47% to close at 65.30.

The worst performers were Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ:EPZM) which was down 44.21% to 1.060 in late trade, TG Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TGTX) which lost 40.65% to settle at 8.25 and Cyngn Inc (NASDAQ:CYN) which was down 36.47% to 1.62 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2349 to 941 and 143 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 3122 fell and 838 advanced, while 174 ended unchanged.

Shares in Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) rose to all time highs; gaining 2.02% or 2.68 to 135.37. Shares in National Security Group Inc (NASDAQ:NSEC) rose to 52-week highs; up 69.65% or 6.43 to 15.65. Shares in Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ:EPZM) fell to all time lows; losing 44.21% or 0.840 to 1.060. Shares in TG Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TGTX) fell to 52-week lows; losing 40.65% or 5.65 to 8.25. Shares in Cyngn Inc (NASDAQ:CYN) fell to all time lows; losing 36.47% or 0.93 to 1.62.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.60% to 30.49.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 1.81% or 33.15 to $1796.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 0.08% or 0.07 to hit $87.28 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.23% or 0.20 to trade at $88.89 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.01% to 1.1142, while USD/JPY fell 0.01% to 115.32.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.87% at 97.235.