Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Financials, Telecoms and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.26%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.10%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 1.74% or 2.11 points to trade at 123.26 at the close. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) added 0.90% or 0.30 points to end at 33.48 and Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 0.59% or 0.23 points to 39.38 in late trade.
Biggest losers included JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which lost 2.32% or 1.49 points to trade at 62.65 in late trade. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined 2.14% or 2.49 points to end at 113.92 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) shed 2.09% or 1.58 points to 74.06.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) which rose 13.91% to 32.51, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) which was up 6.55% to settle at 89.98 and United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) which gained 6.23% to close at 61.56.
The worst performers were Keurig Green Mountain Inc (NASDAQ:GMCR) which was down 4.92% to 57.19 in late trade, Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) which lost 4.76% to settle at 70.27 and Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which was down 4.40% to 15.41 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Aerie Pharmace (NASDAQ:AERI) which rose 67.11% to 30.08, Condor Hospitality Trust Inc (NASDAQ:CDOR) which was up 34.53% to settle at 1.870 and Sfx Enterta (NASDAQ:SFXE) which gained 31.98% to close at 0.62.
The worst performers were Alliance HealthCare Services Inc (NASDAQ:AIQ) which was down 24.51% to 12.780 in late trade, ARC Group Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:ARCW) which lost 21.30% to settle at 2.550 and One Group Hospitality Inc (NASDAQ:STKS) which was down 15.74% to 3.80 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1410 to 1133 and 6 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1391 rose and 1147 declined, while 64 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.25% to 21.83.
In commodities trading, Gold for December delivery was up 1.09% or 12.20 to $1131.20 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 0.70% or 0.33 to hit $46.82 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 1.15% or 0.57 to trade at $49.18 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 1.20% to 1.1427, while USD/JPY fell 0.46% to 120.01.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.94% at 94.60.