Investing.com – U.S. equities were lower at the close on Friday, as losses in the Basic Materials, Utilities and Industrials sectors propelled shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.82%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.61%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.44%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which rose 0.88% or 0.36 points to trade at 41.38 at the close. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 0.42% or 0.13 points to end at 30.93 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 0.30% or 0.35 points to 115.23 in late trade.
Biggest losers included International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which lost 2.32% or 3.67 points to trade at 154.31 in late trade. United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) declined 2.00% or 2.43 points to end at 118.81 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) shed 1.65% or 4.44 points to 265.14.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) which rose 3.46% to 40.68, Leggett & Platt Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) which was up 3.18% to settle at 45.46 and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which gained 2.48% to close at 28.71.
The worst performers were ENSCO plc (NYSE:ESV) which was down 6.62% to 20.45 in late trade, Avon Products Inc (NYSE:AVP) which lost 5.85% to settle at 7.72 and Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) which was down 5.76% to 29.76 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Amarin Corporation PLC (NASDAQ:AMRN) which rose 21.85% to 2.90, Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHIP) which was up 16.87% to settle at 0.900 and Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) which gained 16.74% to close at 31.31.
The worst performers were KBS Fashion Group Ltd (NASDAQ:KBSF) which was down 31.72% to 3.38 in late trade, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (NASDAQ:SHOS) which lost 29.85% to settle at 9.12 and CTI BioPharma Corp (NASDAQ:CTIC) which was down 24.23% to 1.970 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 2082 to 730; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1652 fell and 1129 advanced, while 4 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 3.89% to 16.02.
In commodities trading, Gold for April delivery was up 0.30% or 3.40 to $1155.30 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude Oil for delivery in April fell 4.20% or 1.98 to hit $45.08 a barrel, while the April Brent Oil contract fell 4.55% or 2.60 to trade at $54.48 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 1.34% to 1.0494, while USD/JPY rose 0.07% to 121.37.
The US Dollar Index was up 1.22% at 100.32.