Investing.com – United States equities were lower at the close on Thursday, as losses in the Dow Jones Industrials, Dow Jones Basic Materials and Dow Jones Telecommunications sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.03%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.22%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.33%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH), which rose 1.61% or 8.10 points to trade at 511.30 at the close. Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) added 1.07% or 2.24 points to end at 210.89 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 0.96% or 5.34 points to 562.68 in late trade.
Biggest losers included International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which fell 3.54% or 8.93 points to trade at 243.36 in late trade. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) declined 1.55% or 1.13 points to end at 71.86 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) down 1.43% or 1.43 points to 98.86.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) which rose 5.77% to 199.01, Jabil Circuit Inc (NYSE:JBL) which was up 3.12% to settle at 143.83 and Charter Communications Inc (NASDAQ:CHTR) which gained 2.71% to close at 362.58.
The worst performers were Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) which was down 7.26% to 300.91 in late trade, Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT) which lost 6.82% to settle at 418.77 and Microchip Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MCHP) which was down 6.54% to 51.00 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Plus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PSTV) which rose 170.06% to 1.38, Sag Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SAG) which was up 70.37% to settle at 1.15 and OptiNose (NASDAQ:OPTN) which gained 52.50% to close at 9.15.
The worst performers were Elevation Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:ELEV) which was down 41.82% to 0.28 in late trade, Benson Hill Inc (NASDAQ:BHIL) which lost 40.50% to settle at 0.38 and Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc (NASDAQ:ADAP) which was down 37.64% to 0.28 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 1587 to 1168 and 89 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2043 fell and 1235 advanced, while 124 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares in Microchip Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MCHP) fell to 3-year lows; losing 6.54% or 3.57 to 51.00. Shares in Elevation Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:ELEV) fell to all time lows; down 41.82% or 0.20 to 0.28. Shares in Benson Hill Inc (NASDAQ:BHIL) fell to all time lows; falling 40.50% or 0.26 to 0.38. Shares in Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc (NASDAQ:ADAP) fell to all time lows; down 37.64% or 0.17 to 0.28.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.50% to 19.80.
Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.42% or 12.91 to $3,054.11 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 2.12% or 1.42 to hit $68.33 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 2.03% or 1.44 to trade at $72.22 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.39% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.02% to 148.76.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.32% at 103.42.