U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.53%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.53%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.54%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.65%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), which rose 1.92% or 1.20 points to trade at 63.84 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.50% or 1.50 points to end at 101.25 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 1.08% or 1.79 points to 167.75 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH), which fell 3.33% or 17.77 points to trade at 515.76 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 2.08% or 8.09 points to end at 380.78 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was down 1.65% or 6.96 points to 414.42.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) which rose 15.43% to 12.49, CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) which was up 4.46% to settle at 114.00 and West Pharmaceutical Services Inc (NYSE:WST) which gained 4.21% to close at 331.62.

The worst performers were Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) which was down 13.69% to 474.63 in late trade, Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN) which lost 8.19% to settle at 229.11 and Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) which was down 5.59% to 65.99 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Palisade Bio Inc (NASDAQ:PALI) which rose 68.57% to 2.36, Sealsq Corp (NASDAQ:LAES) which was up 60.87% to settle at 1.85 and Himax Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:HIMX) which gained 44.93% to close at 9.71.

The worst performers were Sacks Parente Golf Inc (NASDAQ:SPGC) which was down 73.36% to 0.37 in late trade, Keros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:KROS) which lost 73.15% to settle at 18.43 and Tff Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:TFFP) which was down 60.05% to 0.07 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2076 to 739 and 69 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2338 fell and 970 advanced, while 112 ended unchanged.

Shares in Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) rose to 52-week highs; rising 15.43% or 1.67 to 12.49. Shares in CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) rose to 52-week highs; up 4.46% or 4.87 to 114.00. Shares in Sacks Parente Golf Inc (NASDAQ:SPGC) fell to all time lows; losing 73.36% or 1.03 to 0.37. Shares in Keros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:KROS) fell to all time lows; losing 73.15% or 50.22 to 18.43. Shares in Himax Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:HIMX) rose to 52-week highs; up 44.93% or 3.01 to 9.71. Shares in Tff Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:TFFP) fell to all time lows; falling 60.05% or 0.10 to 0.07.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.50% to 13.92.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 1.82% or 50.19 to $2,706.51 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 0.34% or 0.24 to hit $70.05 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 0.12% or 0.09 to trade at $73.43 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.24% to 1.05, while USD/JPY rose 0.11% to 152.62.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.27% at 106.68.