Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Friday, as gains in the Financials, Utilities and Consumer Goods sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Healthcare, Consumer Services and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.70%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.05%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 1.01%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 8.89% or 10.21 points to trade at 125.00 at the close. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) added 2.42% or 0.61 points to end at 26.02 and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) was up 2.08% or 1.25 points to 61.47 in late trade.
Biggest losers included UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which lost 3.90% or 4.72 points to trade at 116.37 in late trade. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) declined 2.46% or 0.81 points to end at 31.89 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) shed 1.96% or 0.99 points to 49.60.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) which rose 8.89% to 125.00, Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW) which was up 4.21% to settle at 4.95 and Intercontinentalexchange Group Inc (NYSE:ICE) which gained 3.67% to close at 235.00.
The worst performers were Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which was down 7.05% to 103.28 in late trade, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) which lost 5.86% to settle at 491.43 and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE:DO) which was down 5.22% to 18.34 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Bellerophon Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:BLPH) which rose 67.74% to 6.24, Prima BioMed Ltd (NASDAQ:PBMD) which was up 16.83% to settle at 1.390 and Hong Kong Television Network Ltd (NASDAQ:HKTV) which gained 14.42% to close at 4.92.
The worst performers were Aratana Thr (NASDAQ:PETX) which was down 38.97% to 10.68 in late trade, Sysorex Gbl (NASDAQ:SYRX) which lost 32.50% to settle at 1.08 and Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) which was down 27.46% to 44.60 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1465 to 1077 and 1 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1772 fell and 789 advanced, while 43 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.36% to 23.15.
In commodities trading, Gold for December delivery was down 0.71% or 8.20 to $1145.60 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.51% or 0.68 to hit $45.59 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.52% or 0.25 to trade at $48.42 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.24% to 1.1205, while USD/JPY rose 0.40% to 120.55.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.22% at 96.31.