U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.44%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Technology, Consumer Services and Healthcare sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.44% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.51%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.16%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which rose 1.92% or 3.53 points to trade at 187.75 at the close. Meanwhile, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) added 1.81% or 3.01 points to end at 169.31 and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was up 1.62% or 2.10 points to 131.35 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 1.62% or 5.10 points to trade at 310.68 at the close. Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) declined 1.38% or 2.95 points to end at 211.03 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.14% or 0.42 points to 303.68.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Coterra Energy Inc (NYSE:CTRA) which rose 6.96% to 28.91, Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) which was up 4.68% to settle at 11.40 and Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) which gained 4.21% to close at 19.07.

The worst performers were Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which was down 7.66% to 165.92 in late trade, EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM) which lost 7.39% to settle at 266.75 and Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) which was down 6.13% to 132.32 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Clever Leaves Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CLVR) which rose 143.04% to 3.84, Nextdecade Corp (NASDAQ:NEXT) which was up 32.22% to settle at 6.36 and Clarus Therapeutics Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRXT) which gained 25.95% to close at 1.65.

The worst performers were MEI Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:MEIP) which was down 65.15% to 0.63 in late trade, Icosavax Inc (NASDAQ:ICVX) which lost 64.55% to settle at 4.41 and Honest Company Inc (NASDAQ:HNST) which was down 22.52% to 4.68 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1677 to 1502 and 109 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2273 fell and 1580 advanced, while 153 ended unchanged.

Shares in Coterra Energy Inc (NYSE:CTRA) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 6.96% or 1.88 to 28.91. Shares in The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.92% or 3.53 to 187.75. Shares in MEI Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:MEIP) fell to all time lows; losing 65.15% or 1.18 to 0.63. Shares in Nextdecade Corp (NASDAQ:NEXT) rose to 52-week highs; rising 32.22% or 1.55 to 6.36. Shares in Icosavax Inc (NASDAQ:ICVX) fell to all time lows; losing 64.55% or 8.03 to 4.41. Shares in Honest Company Inc (NASDAQ:HNST) fell to all time lows; down 22.52% or 1.36 to 4.68.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.97% to 20.81 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.42% or 8.15 to $1,954.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 0.44% or 0.49 to hit $112.83 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 0.38% or 0.45 to trade at $119.48 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.11% to 1.10, while USD/JPY fell 0.10% to 122.21.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.06% at 98.86.