U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.55%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Basic Materials , Healthcare and Industrials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.55%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.19%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.16%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 3M Company (NYSE:MMM ), which rose 2.21% or 2.88 points to trade at 133.33 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK ) added 2.15% or 2.18 points to end at 103.55 and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD ) was up 1.48% or 4.38 points to 299.47 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH ), which fell 5.21% or 31.82 points to trade at 578.97 at the close. Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM ) declined 1.76% or 6.49 points to end at 361.38 and Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW ) was down 1.74% or 6.83 points to 385.24.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb ) which rose 10.66% to 45.37, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA ) which was up 3.23% to settle at 369.49 and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL ) which gained 3.21% to close at 102.44.

The worst performers were Synopsys Inc (NASDAQ:SNPS ) which was down 12.37% to 515.29 in late trade, Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER ) which lost 9.58% to settle at 65.25 and Cadence Design Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CDNS ) which was down 6.39% to 303.79 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd (NASDAQ:AGRI ) which rose 10,319.35% to 3.23, Oriental Rise Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:ORIS ) which was up 599.25% to settle at 56.01 and Arcadia Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:RKDA ) which gained 102.08% to close at 5.45.

The worst performers were Algorhythm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RIME ) which was down 46.87% to 0.09 in late trade, Universe Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:UPC ) which lost 41.34% to settle at 1.05 and Bluebird bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLUE ) which was down 39.73% to 0.44 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1710 to 1085 and 91 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2281 fell and 1052 advanced, while 92 ended unchanged.

Shares in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA ) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 3.23% or 11.56 to 369.49. Shares in United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL ) rose to all time highs; up 3.21% or 3.19 to 102.44. Shares in AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd (NASDAQ:AGRI ) rose to 52-week highs; up 10,319.35% or 3.20 to 3.23. Shares in Algorhythm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RIME ) fell to all time lows; falling 46.87% or 0.08 to 0.09. Shares in Oriental Rise Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:ORIS ) rose to all time highs; rising 599.25% or 48.00 to 56.01. Shares in Universe Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:UPC ) fell to all time lows; falling 41.34% or 0.74 to 1.05. Shares in Arcadia Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:RKDA ) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 102.08% or 2.75 to 5.45.

The CBOE Volatility Index , which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.67% to 13.54.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.81% or 21.73 to $2,654.47 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 0.06% or 0.04 to hit $68.50 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 0.08% or 0.06 to trade at $72.25 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.73% to 1.06, while USD/JPY fell 0.34% to 150.09.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.55% at 105.71.

Source: Investing.com