Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Healthcare, Technology and Utilities sectors led shares higher while losses in the Telecoms, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.51%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.04%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.21%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which rose 3.31% or 4.14 points to trade at 129.15 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 2.15% or 1.61 points to end at 76.34 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 1.95% or 7.34 points to 382.80 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), which fell 12.95% or 28.36 points to trade at 190.72 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) declined 2.15% or 1.23 points to end at 55.85 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was down 1.89% or 1.11 points to 57.61.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) which rose 6.71% to 93.57, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) which was up 5.85% to settle at 193.26 and Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) which gained 4.93% to close at 205.08.
The worst performers were Xilinx Inc (NASDAQ:XLNX) which was down 17.08% to 115.86 in late trade, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) which lost 12.95% to settle at 190.72 and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which was down 10.09% to 12.21 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Tiziana Life Sciences PLC ADR (NASDAQ:TLSA) which rose 41.46% to 9.53, Travelzoo Inc (NASDAQ:TZOO) which was up 20.29% to settle at 17.43 and Scpharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SCPH) which gained 18.03% to close at 3.60.
The worst performers were Avalon Globocare Corp (NASDAQ:AVCO) which was down 44.60% to 2.820 in late trade, ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CTRV) which lost 43.35% to settle at 0.1150 and Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL) which was down 34.20% to 5.85 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1896 to 1056 and 125 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1525 fell and 1084 advanced, while 107 ended unchanged.
Shares in Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) rose to all time highs; up 6.71% or 5.88 to 93.57. Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose to all time highs; gaining 3.31% or 4.14 to 129.15. Shares in ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CTRV) fell to all time lows; down 43.35% or 0.0880 to 0.1150. Shares in Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL) fell to all time lows; losing 34.20% or 3.04 to 5.85.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.84% to 13.25.
Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.03% or 0.35 to $1279.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June fell 1.20% or 0.79 to hit $65.10 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract fell 0.04% or 0.03 to trade at $74.28 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.09% to 1.1139, while USD/JPY fell 0.02% to 111.59.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.04% at 97.895.