U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.56%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Telecoms, Healthcare and Utilities sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.56% to hit a new 6-months low, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.73%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.28%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 6.76% or 13.30 points to trade at 210.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) added 5.24% or 8.49 points to end at 170.53 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 2.74% or 4.63 points to 173.80 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), which fell 3.96% or 2.42 points to trade at 58.66 at the close. Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declined 3.96% or 6.05 points to end at 146.79 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 2.75% or 13.41 points to 473.46.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which rose 10.82% to 175.99, SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) which was up 10.41% to settle at 328.91 and Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) which gained 8.17% to close at 116.83.

The worst performers were Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) which was down 9.51% to 90.57 in late trade, ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) which lost 8.22% to settle at 30.93 and Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:ISRG) which was down 7.98% to 269.32 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:HYMC) which rose 203.31% to 1.00, Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KALA) which was up 88.49% to settle at 1.15 and Westport Fuel Systems Inc (NASDAQ:WPRT) which gained 52.63% to close at 2.03.

The worst performers were Imperial Petroleum Inc (NASDAQ:IMPP) which was down 43.33% to 4.25 in late trade, Inspirato Inc (NASDAQ:ISPO) which lost 42.78% to settle at 15.25 and Digital Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DBGI) which was down 30.61% to 1.36 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1694 to 1502 and 147 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2069 rose and 1727 declined, while 265 ended unchanged.

Shares in Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) rose to all time highs; rising 5.24% or 8.49 to 170.53.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.62% to 35.13.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 3.12% or 62.35 to $2,058.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 4.44% or 5.30 to hit $124.70 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 0.06% or 0.08 to trade at $129.27 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.00% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.00% to 115.67.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.17% at 99.12.