Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Healthcare and Oil & Gas sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Industrials, Technology and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.01% to hit a new 52-week high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.03%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.22%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 1.95% or 0.65 points to trade at 34.02 at the close. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.78% or 1.93 points to end at 110.39 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 1.57% or 2.37 points to 152.93 in late trade.
Biggest losers included American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which lost 3.89% or 6.89 points to trade at 170.22 in late trade. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 1.32% or 3.44 points to end at 257.65 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shed 0.89% or 3.10 points to 343.77.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) which rose 6.95% to 183.53, Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) which was up 4.71% to settle at 255.88 and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (NYSE:TMO) which gained 4.44% to close at 562.19.
The worst performers were Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) which was down 13.32% to 32.87 in late trade, Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE:OMC) which lost 4.95% to settle at 83.81 and Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) which was down 4.72% to 36.11 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DWAC) which rose 50.30% to 20.08, Fresh Tracks Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FRTX) which was up 39.69% to settle at 0.95 and Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd DRC (NASDAQ:QNRX) which gained 39.63% to close at 9.09.
The worst performers were Sigma Labs Inc (NASDAQ:SASI) which was down 41.01% to 0.23 in late trade, Knightscope Inc (NASDAQ:KSCP) which lost 26.38% to settle at 1.20 and Redhill Biopharma Ltd (NASDAQ:RDHL) which was down 25.95% to 1.37 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1492 to 1447 and 102 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1899 fell and 1556 advanced, while 197 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.79% to 13.60.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.34% or 6.75 to $1,964.15 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.71% or 1.29 to hit $76.94 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.53% or 1.22 to trade at $80.86 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.01% to 1.11, while USD/JPY rose 1.17% to 141.71.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.17% at 100.77.