U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.29%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.29%, while the S&P 500 index fell 1.23%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 1.32%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which rose 1.06% or 1.74 points to trade at 165.83 at the close. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 0.82% or 1.39 points to end at 170.21 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 0.53% or 0.42 points to 79.72 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 3.88% or 12.78 points to trade at 316.95 at the close. Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) declined 3.25% or 7.09 points to end at 211.12 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was down 3.01% or 1.69 points to 54.48.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) which rose 4.57% to 106.23, Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG) which was up 3.85% to settle at 142.64 and Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) which gained 3.77% to close at 78.90.

The worst performers were Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) which was down 9.34% to 422.90 in late trade, ResMed Inc (NYSE:RMD) which lost 8.65% to settle at 232.99 and Signature Bank (NASDAQ:SBNY) which was down 6.60% to 299.99 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Creative Medical Technology Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CELZ) which rose 82.35% to 3.10, XORTX Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:XRTX) which was up 43.80% to settle at 1.74 and Imperial Petroleum Inc (NASDAQ:IMPP) which gained 37.25% to close at 2.10.

The worst performers were Codex DNA Inc (NASDAQ:DNAY) which was down 34.13% to 6.06 in late trade, AdTheorent Holding Company Inc (NASDAQ:ADTH) which lost 26.06% to settle at 7.69 and JX Luxventure Ltd (NASDAQ:LLL) which was down 23.01% to 3.38 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2081 to 1080 and 119 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2535 fell and 1260 advanced, while 158 ended unchanged.

Shares in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) rose to 5-year highs; up 4.57% or 4.64 to 106.23. Shares in Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG) rose to all time highs; gaining 3.85% or 5.29 to 142.64. Shares in Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 3.77% or 2.87 to 78.90. Shares in Codex DNA Inc (NASDAQ:DNAY) fell to all time lows; falling 34.13% or 3.14 to 6.06.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.75% to 23.57.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.32% or 25.35 to $1,946.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 4.96% or 5.42 to hit $114.69 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 5.33% or 6.15 to trade at $121.63 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.17% to 1.10, while USD/JPY rose 0.27% to 121.13.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.10% at 98.62.