U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.53%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.53%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.79%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.66%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which rose 2.53% or 3.53 points to trade at 142.82 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 2.48% or 12.06 points to end at 498.65 and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) was up 2.14% or 1.00 points to 47.72 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which fell 4.24% or 8.01 points to trade at 180.84 at the close. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) declined 3.86% or 6.94 points to end at 172.95 and Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) was down 3.35% or 6.94 points to 200.29.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) which rose 17.59% to 56.15, Mosaic Co (NYSE:MOS) which was up 7.49% to settle at 59.83 and Kroger Company (NYSE:KR) which gained 6.97% to close at 58.94.

The worst performers were PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) which was down 11.57% to 79.16 in late trade, Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) which lost 9.41% to settle at 105.87 and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) which was down 9.07% to 36.71 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Atreca Inc (NASDAQ:BCEL) which rose 211.38% to 5.20, Imperial Petroleum Inc (NASDAQ:IMPP) which was up 53.64% to settle at 3.38 and VEON Ltd (NASDAQ:VEON) which gained 52.09% to close at 0.40.

The worst performers were Cerberus Cyber Sentinel Corp (NASDAQ:CISO) which was down 25.74% to 4.53 in late trade, Cambium Networks Corp (NASDAQ:CMBM) which lost 24.66% to settle at 20.56 and View Inc (NASDAQ:VIEW) which was down 23.78% to 1.41 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2128 to 1077 and 146 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2791 fell and 1004 advanced, while 242 ended unchanged.

Shares in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) rose to 52-week highs; up 17.59% or 8.40 to 56.15. Shares in PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) fell to 52-week lows; losing 11.57% or 10.36 to 79.16. Shares in Mosaic Co (NYSE:MOS) rose to 5-year highs; rising 7.49% or 4.17 to 59.83. Shares in Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) fell to 52-week lows; falling 9.41% or 11.00 to 105.87. Shares in Kroger Company (NYSE:KR) rose to all time highs; up 6.97% or 3.84 to 58.94. Shares in United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) fell to 52-week lows; falling 9.07% or 3.66 to 36.71. Shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) fell to 52-week lows; losing 4.24% or 8.01 to 180.84. Shares in View Inc (NASDAQ:VIEW) fell to all time lows; down 23.78% or 0.44 to 1.41.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 4.92% to 31.98.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.98% or 38.40 to $1,974.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 6.84% or 7.36 to hit $115.03 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 6.85% or 7.57 to trade at $118.03 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 1.26% to 1.09, while USD/JPY fell 0.55% to 114.82.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.72% at 98.50.