Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Services sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Financials, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.25%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.14%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.19%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which rose 1.30% or 1.04 points to trade at 81.19 at the close. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) added 1.14% or 0.38 points to end at 33.67 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 0.93% or 1.07 points to 116.72 in late trade.
Biggest losers included The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which lost 1.73% or 2.08 points to trade at 118.17 in late trade. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) declined 1.40% or 1.07 points to end at 75.19 and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shed 1.42% or 1.28 points to 88.61.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) which rose 9.32% to 138.96, Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) which was up 5.76% to settle at 30.95 and Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) which gained 4.69% to close at 36.60.
The worst performers were Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) which was down 18.74% to 42.16 in late trade, Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) which lost 13.81% to settle at 30.89 and Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) which was down 7.71% to 88.26 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ:ETRM) which rose 71.77% to 3.5899, Prana Biotechnology Ltd (NASDAQ:PRAN) which was up 34.55% to settle at 2.5699 and GenVec Inc (NASDAQ:GNVC) which gained 25.82% to close at 4.2400.
The worst performers were AEterna Zentaris Inc (NASDAQ:AEZS) which was down 21.92% to 2.850 in late trade, Fuwei Films Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:FFHL) which lost 16.27% to settle at 1.7500 and Hebron Technology Co Ltd (NASDAQ:HEBT) which was down 15.68% to 5.00 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1729 to 1429 and 65 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1502 fell and 1004 advanced, while 82 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.59% to 11.92.
In commodities trading, Gold for February delivery was up 1.35% or 15.70 to $1181.00 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 0.84% or 0.45 to hit $53.71 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 0.64% or 0.36 to trade at $56.82 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 1.00% to 1.0593, while USD/JPY fell 1.36% to 115.66.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.95% at 101.52.