U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.73%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.73%, while the S&P 500 index lost 2.91%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 3.52%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which rose 0.56% or 0.68 points to trade at 121.70 at the close. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) fell 0.24% or 0.12 points to end at 50.82 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 0.38% or 0.54 points to 141.95 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW), which fell 6.06% or 3.99 points to trade at 61.87 at the close. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) declined 5.65% or 17.20 points to end at 287.02 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was down 5.03% or 6.73 points to 127.00.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) which rose 3.52% to 66.85, Cardinal Health Inc (NYSE:CAH) which was up 2.12% to settle at 53.46 and Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY) which gained 1.86% to close at 213.35.

The worst performers were Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) which was down 9.29% to 45.50 in late trade, Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which lost 9.03% to settle at 204.19 and Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) which was down 8.70% to 75.84 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were RISE Education Cayman Ltd (NASDAQ:REDU) which rose 138.46% to 3.41, Singing Machine Company Inc (NASDAQ:MICS) which was up 60.38% to settle at 6.72 and Cogent Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:COGT) which gained 58.67% to close at 7.87.

The worst performers were ABVC Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ABVC) which was down 48.57% to 0.90 in late trade, Fulcrum Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FULC) which lost 39.18% to settle at 4.92 and Axcella Health Inc (NASDAQ:AXLA) which was down 27.01% to 2.00 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2656 to 492 and 73 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 3055 fell and 790 advanced, while 141 ended unchanged.

Shares in Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) fell to 3-years lows; falling 9.03% or 20.28 to 204.19. Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) fell to 52-week lows; losing 5.65% or 17.20 to 287.02. Shares in ABVC Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ABVC) fell to all time lows; losing 48.57% or 0.85 to 0.90. Shares in Fulcrum Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FULC) fell to 52-week lows; down 39.18% or 3.17 to 4.92.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 6.36% to 27.75.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 1.23% or 22.80 to $1,875.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July fell 0.78% or 0.95 to hit $120.56 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 0.93% or 1.14 to trade at $121.93 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.91% to 1.05, while USD/JPY rose 0.09% to 134.45.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.96% at 104.21.