Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Telecoms and Utilities sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Technology, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.28%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.16%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.51%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which rose 2.92% or 3.89 points to trade at 137.08 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 2.49% or 1.25 points to end at 51.69 and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) was up 1.53% or 1.56 points to 103.85 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which lost 6.26% or 6.53 points to trade at 97.82 in late trade. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) declined 1.07% or 1.44 points to end at 132.80 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shed 0.97% or 0.50 points to 50.94.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) which rose 11.17% to 21.89, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which was up 10.19% to settle at 12.65 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which gained 8.18% to close at 7.14.
The worst performers were H&R Block Inc (NYSE:HRB) which was down 13.56% to 20.59 in late trade, Robert Half International Inc (NYSE:RHI) which lost 12.26% to settle at 39.13 and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT) which was down 7.44% to 30.34 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Lilis Energy Inc (NASDAQ:LLEX) which rose 43.02% to 0.1802, Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc (NASDAQ:EGLE) which was up 31.84% to settle at 0.670 and Approach Resources Inc (NASDAQ:AREX) which gained 27.23% to close at 2.9900.
The worst performers were Rediffcom India Limited (NASDAQ:REDF) which was down 42.84% to 0.3601 in late trade, Abengoa SA (NASDAQ:ABGB) which lost 26.09% to settle at 1.0200 and Lpath Inc (NASDAQ:LPTN) which was down 18.21% to 0.2780 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2259 to 1054 and 42 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1313 rose and 1266 declined, while 50 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.15% to 13.80.
In commodities trading, Gold for June delivery was up 0.36% or 4.45 to $1247.85 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 2.86% or 1.26 to hit $45.30 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 2.98% or 1.36 to trade at $46.94 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.16% to 1.1315, while USD/JPY rose 0.21% to 111.54.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.01% at 94.46.