Investing.com – U.S. equities were lower at the close on Friday, as losses in the Utilities, Telecoms and Basic Materials sectors propelled shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.13% to hit a new 1-month low, while the S&P 500 index declined 2.45%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 2.54%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which fell 0.91% or 0.61 points to trade at 66.64 at the close. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 1.08% or 1.29 points to end at 118.18 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 1.17% or 0.74 points to 62.50 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which lost 3.28% or 1.76 points to trade at 51.84 in late trade. Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) declined 3.28% or 4.36 points to end at 128.54 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) shed 3.28% or 2.74 points to 80.80.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) which rose 2.75% to 98.41, MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) which was up 1.06% to settle at 43.93 and M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) which gained 0.78% to close at 117.12.
The worst performers were Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE:DO) which was down 10.11% to 15.64 in late trade, CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) which lost 8.23% to settle at 55.22 and United Rentals Inc (NYSE:URI) which was down 7.12% to 77.91 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:LXRX) which rose 16.59% to 17.850, Ignite Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:IRG) which was up 15.79% to settle at 0.880 and Auris Medical Holding AG (NASDAQ:EARS) which gained 15.19% to close at 1.820.
The worst performers were Glori Energy Technology Inc (NASDAQ:GLRI) which was down 39.90% to 0.1229 in late trade, Lantheus Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LNTH) which lost 21.35% to settle at 7.440 and Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) which was down 19.59% to 3.120 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 3060 to 181 and 35 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2193 fell and 352 advanced, while 83 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 39.09% to 17.40 a new 1-month high.
In commodities trading, Gold for December delivery was down 0.68% or 9.15 to $1332.45 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 4.16% or 1.98 to hit $45.64 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 4.32% or 2.16 to trade at $47.83 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.28% to 1.1227, while USD/JPY rose 0.20% to 102.68.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.33% at 95.35.