Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Basic Materials, Oil & Gas and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.91%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.65%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.07%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were McDonald`s Corporation (N:MCD), which rose 0.09% or 0.11 points to trade at 116.53 at the close. Meanwhile, Nike Inc (N:NKE) added 0.08% or 0.10 points to end at 131.70 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH) was down 0.03% or 0.03 points to 115.88 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Exxon Mobil Corporation (N:XOM), which fell 2.83% or 2.17 points to trade at 74.63 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT) declined 2.66% or 1.82 points to end at 66.54 and Boeing Company (N:BA) was down 2.33% or 3.46 points to 144.99.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were AutoZone Inc (N:AZO) which rose 5.84% to 796.09, NRG Energy Inc (N:NRG) which was up 5.65% to settle at 10.09 and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (O:ALXN) which gained 5.34% to close at 188.72.
The worst performers were Southwest Airlines Company (N:LUV) which was down 9.02% to 45.04 in late trade, H&R Block Inc (N:HRB) which lost 6.99% to settle at 34.31 and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (N:FCX) which was down 6.78% to 6.74 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Staffing 360 Solutions Inc (O:STAF) which rose 43.95% to 5.398, Lilis Energy Inc (O:LLEX) which was up 41.54% to settle at 0.245 and Sfx Enterta (O:SFXE) which gained 36.67% to close at 0.41.
The worst performers were Gevo Inc (O:GEVO) which was down 35.60% to 0.805 in late trade, Outerwall Inc (O:OUTR) which lost 24.15% to settle at 44.04 and Reliv International Inc (O:RELV) which was down 17.73% to 0.510 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2259 to 1182 and 3 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1533 fell and 1085 advanced, while 65 ended unchanged.
Shares in Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (N:FCX) fell to 5-year lows; down 6.78% or 0.49 to 6.74. Shares in McDonald`s Corporation (N:MCD) rose to all time highs; up 0.09% or 0.11 to 116.53. Shares in Gevo Inc (O:GEVO) fell to all time lows; falling 35.60% or 0.445 to 0.805. Shares in Outerwall Inc (O:OUTR) fell to 3-years lows; losing 24.15% or 14.02 to 44.04. Shares in Reliv International Inc (O:RELV) fell to all time lows; losing 17.73% or 0.110 to 0.510.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 10.42% to 17.49.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.10% or 1.10 to $1074.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 0.15% or 0.06 to hit $37.59 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.30% or 0.53 to trade at $40.20 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.54% to 1.0894, while USD/JPY fell 0.35% to 122.96.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.33% at 98.41.