Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Oil & Gas and Industrials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Healthcare, Telecoms and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.07%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.05%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.17%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which rose 2.06% or 2.63 points to trade at 130.21 at the close. Meanwhile, EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) added 1.44% or 0.98 points to end at 69.06 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 0.74% or 0.84 points to 113.89 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which fell 3.76% or 2.42 points to trade at 61.94 at the close. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 3.21% or 2.30 points to end at 69.37 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 0.81% or 1.11 points to 136.49.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ:WFM) which rose 4.90% to 29.33, Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) which was up 4.18% to settle at 100.19 and Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) which gained 4.15% to close at 71.26.
The worst performers were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) which was down 3.76% to 61.94 in late trade, Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which lost 3.69% to settle at 20.63 and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which was down 3.47% to 10.30 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) which rose 25.93% to 5.100, Georgetown Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:GTWN) which was up 24.69% to settle at 25.450 and Cosi Inc (NASDAQ:COSI) which gained 23.10% to close at 0.0373.
The worst performers were Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALNY) which was down 48.49% to 36.21 in late trade, Inventergy (NASDAQ:INVT) which lost 31.45% to settle at 0.850 and Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDRA) which was down 16.48% to 2.180 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1771 to 1358 and 91 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1492 fell and 1001 advanced, while 101 ended unchanged.
Shares in Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.18% or 4.02 to 100.19. Shares in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 25.93% or 1.050 to 5.100. Shares in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALNY) fell to 3-years lows; falling 48.49% or 34.09 to 36.21. Shares in Georgetown Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:GTWN) rose to all time highs; up 24.69% or 5.040 to 25.450. Shares in Inventergy (NASDAQ:INVT) fell to all time lows; down 31.45% or 0.390 to 0.850.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.00% to 12.86.
Gold for December delivery was down 1.01% or 12.80 to $1255.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.44% or 0.72 to hit $50.55 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 1.47% or 0.76 to trade at $52.62 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.51% to 1.1148, while USD/JPY rose 0.49% to 104.02.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.59% at 96.70.