U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.42%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Technology and Industrials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.42% to hit a new 52-week low, while the S&P 500 index fell 3.25%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 4.08%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which rose 1.04% or 1.24 points to trade at 120.62 at the close. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) added 0.61% or 0.81 points to end at 133.32 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 0.31% or 0.26 points to 84.89 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which fell 5.96% or 8.72 points to trade at 137.50 at the close. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) declined 5.57% or 6.32 points to end at 107.12 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 5.44% or 11.21 points to 194.79.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) which rose 3.24% to 64.71, CME Group Inc (NASDAQ:CME) which was up 1.19% to settle at 203.28 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) which gained 1.04% to close at 120.62.

The worst performers were Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) which was down 11.51% to 10.38 in late trade, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) which lost 11.41% to settle at 35.16 and Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) which was down 11.08% to 8.75 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Advent Technologies Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ADN) which rose 243.97% to 3.99, Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ELMS) which was up 100.28% to settle at 0.28 and Sidus Space Inc (NASDAQ:SIDU) which gained 63.03% to close at 7.63.

The worst performers were EJF Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:EJFA) which was down 42.71% to 5.50 in late trade, Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) which lost 37.65% to settle at 14.59 and Hillstream Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:HILS) which was down 28.78% to 0.91 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2889 to 329 and 96 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 3208 fell and 705 advanced, while 188 ended unchanged.

Shares in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) fell to 52-week lows; down 11.51% or 1.35 to 10.38. Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) fell to 52-week lows; down 11.41% or 4.53 to 35.16. Shares in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) fell to 52-week lows; falling 11.08% or 1.09 to 8.75. Shares in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) fell to 52-week lows; down 5.96% or 8.72 to 137.50. Shares in EJF Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:EJFA) fell to all time lows; down 42.71% or 4.10 to 5.50. Shares in Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) fell to 52-week lows; falling 37.65% or 8.81 to 14.59.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 11.24% to 32.95.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 2.07% or 37.75 to $1,857.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 1.49% or 1.72 to hit $117.03 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 0.62% or 0.74 to trade at $119.25 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 1.01% to 1.05, while USD/JPY fell 1.24% to 132.16.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 1.25% at 103.62.