Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.76%, while the S&P 500 index lost 1.94%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 2.21%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Procter & Gamble Company (N:PG), which fell 0.01% or 0.01 points to trade at 77.78 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH) fell 0.20% or 0.23 points to end at 115.98 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT) was down 0.34% or 0.20 points to 59.36 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (N:DD), which fell 5.51% or 4.11 points to trade at 70.44 at the close. Chevron Corporation (N:CVX) declined 3.20% or 2.86 points to end at 86.44 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (N:GS) was down 3.05% or 5.55 points to 176.56.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Whole Foods Market Inc (O:WFM) which rose 8.59% to 34.02, Corning Incorporated (N:GLW) which was up 5.60% to settle at 18.68 and CSX Corporation (N:CSX) which gained 4.13% to close at 25.72.
The worst performers were Southwestern Energy Company (N:SWN) which was down 13.99% to 5.90 in late trade, Williams Companies Inc (N:WMB) which lost 10.98% to settle at 26.42 and Range Resources Corporation (N:RRC) which was down 10.33% to 22.75 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Essex Rental Corporation (O:ESSX) which rose 36.92% to 0.178, Pyxis Tankers Inc (O:PXS) which was up 30.91% to settle at 2.88 and Finisar Corporation (O:FNSR) which gained 22.25% to close at 14.23.
The worst performers were Moko Social (O:MOKO) which was down 25.53% to 0.70 in late trade, Vapor Corp (O:VPCO) which lost 30.47% to settle at 0.16 and Great Basin Scientific Inc (O:GBSN) which was down 26.59% to 0.0947 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2956 to 484 and 5 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2245 fell and 411 advanced, while 44 ended unchanged.
Shares in Southwestern Energy Company (N:SWN) fell to 5-year lows; down 13.99% or 0.96 to 5.90. Shares in Williams Companies Inc (N:WMB) fell to 3-years lows; down 10.98% or 3.26 to 26.42. Shares in Range Resources Corporation (N:RRC) fell to 5-year lows; falling 10.33% or 2.62 to 22.75. Shares in Moko Social (O:MOKO) fell to all time lows; falling 25.53% or 0.24 to 0.70. Shares in Vapor Corp (O:VPCO) fell to all time lows; losing 30.47% or 0.07 to 0.16.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 25.59% to 24.29 a new 1-month high.
Gold for February delivery was up 0.29% or 3.10 to $1075.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 3.71% or 1.36 to hit $35.40 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 4.92% or 1.96 to trade at $37.77 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.43% to 1.0988, while USD/JPY fell 0.59% to 120.87.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.35% at 97.57.