U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.81%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Basic Materials, Utilities and Industrials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.81%, while the S&P 500 index fell 1.08%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.73%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 1.19% or 2.70 points to trade at 229.80 at the close. Meanwhile, Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) added 1.09% or 2.04 points to end at 189.19 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was up 0.60% or 0.73 points to 122.40 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 5.28% or 2.30 points to trade at 41.23 at the close. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) declined 2.12% or 6.83 points to end at 314.68 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 1.62% or 2.73 points to 165.96.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS) which rose 4.35% to 37.39, Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) which was up 4.18% to settle at 70.28 and Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) which gained 4.17% to close at 84.88.

The worst performers were Altria Group (NYSE:MO) which was down 8.37% to 49.49 in late trade, Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) which lost 6.17% to settle at 12.93 and Expeditors International of Washington Inc (NASDAQ:EXPD) which was down 5.68% to 103.10 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were HeartCore Enterprises Inc (NASDAQ:HTCR) which rose 114.71% to 2.19, Qutoutiao Inc (NASDAQ:QTT) which was up 71.58% to settle at 1.63 and VivoPower International PLC (NASDAQ:VVPR) which gained 40.00% to close at 2.24.

The worst performers were Integrated Media Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:IMTE) which was down 67.50% to 3.65 in late trade, Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RIGL) which lost 60.20% to settle at 0.70 and Loyalty Ventures Inc (NASDAQ:LYLT) which was down 45.42% to 6.02 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2277 to 864 and 106 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2002 fell and 1782 advanced, while 217 ended unchanged.

Shares in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) fell to 3-years lows; down 5.28% or 2.30 to 41.23. Shares in Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RIGL) fell to all time lows; down 60.20% or 1.06 to 0.70. Shares in Loyalty Ventures Inc (NASDAQ:LYLT) fell to all time lows; down 45.42% or 5.01 to 6.02.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.25% to 23.96 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.13% or 2.45 to $1,854.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 2.65% or 3.17 to hit $122.58 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 2.85% or 3.44 to trade at $124.01 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.15% to 1.07, while USD/JPY rose 1.26% to 134.26.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.23% at 102.56.