Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Financials, Healthcare and Utilities sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.18%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.16%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.36%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 1.44% or 0.75 points to trade at 53.23 at the close. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 1.32% or 2.39 points to end at 183.21 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 1.22% or 0.96 points to 79.81 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), which lost 1.02% or 0.47 points to trade at 45.51 in late trade. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 0.99% or 1.04 points to end at 103.51 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) shed 0.94% or 0.61 points to 64.06.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) which rose 4.00% to 56.11, Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE) which was up 3.36% to settle at 63.62 and GGP Inc (NYSE:GGP) which gained 3.05% to close at 23.31.
The worst performers were Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE:NFX) which was down 6.95% to 28.90 in late trade, Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) which lost 6.50% to settle at 89.78 and Helmerich & Payne Inc (NYSE:HP) which was down 6.04% to 50.08 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Wins Finance Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:WINS) which rose 153.10% to 205.01, MoSys Inc (NASDAQ:MOSY) which was up 125.61% to settle at 1.8500 and DragonWave Inc (NASDAQ:DRWI) which gained 75.00% to close at 1.1300.
The worst performers were ESSA Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:EPIX) which was down 27.86% to 0.721 in late trade, Crossroads Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CRDS) which lost 19.11% to settle at 1.8200 and Duluth Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:DLTH) which was down 18.57% to 16.75 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1674 to 1540 and 34 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1327 rose and 1195 declined, while 112 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.29% to 10.42.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.60% or 7.75 to $1289.75 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in July fell 5.04% or 2.43 to hit $45.76 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 3.97% or 1.99 to trade at $48.13 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.14% to 1.1262, while USD/JPY rose 0.37% to 109.81.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.16% at 96.65.