Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.04%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.35%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.51%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 5.81% or 3.41 points to trade at 62.07 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 1.86% or 4.26 points to end at 232.90 and Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 0.82% or 0.38 points to 46.53 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which fell 2.93% or 0.55 points to trade at 18.21 at the close. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) declined 1.93% or 1.25 points to end at 63.42 and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) was down 1.91% or 2.61 points to 133.97.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) which rose 5.81% to 62.07, Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) which was up 4.39% to settle at 68.25 and MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) which gained 2.87% to close at 36.03.
The worst performers were Under Armour Inc C (NYSE:UA) which was down 11.74% to 12.480 in late trade, Under Armour Inc A (NYSE:UAA) which lost 8.66% to settle at 13.81 and Viacom B Inc (NASDAQ:VIAB) which was down 7.05% to 31.38 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Recon Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:RCON) which rose 77.71% to 3.030, Spi Energy Co Ltd (NASDAQ:SPI) which was up 63.75% to settle at 1.04 and Inpixon (NASDAQ:INPX) which gained 36.13% to close at 0.4600.
The worst performers were Eiger Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EIGR) which was down 49.38% to 8.10 in late trade, Aptevo Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:APVO) which lost 28.52% to settle at 3.145 and WPCS International Incorporated (NASDAQ:WPCS) which was down 20.00% to 1.200 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2077 to 1026 and 117 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1770 fell and 790 advanced, while 91 ended unchanged.
Shares in MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) rose to 5-year highs; up 2.87% or 1.00 to 36.03. Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.86% or 4.26 to 232.90. Shares in Recon Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:RCON) rose to 3-years highs; rising 77.71% or 1.325 to 3.030.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 14.37% to 11.62 a new 1-month high.
Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.28% or 3.80 to $1338.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.67% or 0.43 to hit $63.87 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 1.35% or 0.95 to trade at $69.31 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.02% to 1.2263, while USD/JPY fell 0.05% to 110.48.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 90.20.