U.S. shares mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.32%

Investing.com – U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Financials , Industrials and Basic Materials sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Consumer Goods , Utilities and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.32% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.22%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.01%.

The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH ), which rose 2.05% or 5.13 points to trade at 255.42 at the close. American Express Company (NYSE: AXP ) added 1.81% or 1.83 points to end at 102.98 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT ) was up 1.56% or 2.17 points to 141.12 in late trade.

Biggest losers included McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD ), which lost 1.14% or 1.82 points to trade at 157.93 in late trade. Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE ) declined 1.14% or 0.88 points to end at 76.59 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) shed 1.01% or 1.31 points to 127.80.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were WW Grainger Inc (NYSE: GWW ) which rose 11.16% to 338.99, United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE: UAL ) which was up 8.79% to settle at 79.00 and CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX ) which gained 7.08% to close at 69.00.

The worst performers were Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX ) which was down 4.07% to 129.53 in late trade, Molson Coors Brewing Co Class B (NYSE: TAP ) which lost 3.96% to settle at 64.35 and Dentsply Sirona Inc (NASDAQ: XRAY ) which was down 3.19% to 44.24 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Precipio Inc (NASDAQ: PRPO ) which rose 30.90% to 0.4778, Staffing 360 Solutions Inc (NASDAQ: STAF ) which was up 29.24% to settle at 3.050 and Vermillion Inc (NASDAQ: VRML ) which gained 22.39% to close at 0.710.

The worst performers were CTi Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ: CTIC ) which was down 43.36% to 2.260 in late trade, China Customer Relations Centers Inc (NASDAQ: CCRC ) which lost 22.07% to settle at 8.79 and Medigus Ltd ADR (NASDAQ: MDGS ) which was down 16.33% to 3.690 at the close.

Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1655 to 1396 and 129 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1356 rose and 1184 declined, while 134 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.

The CBOE Volatility Index , which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.17% to 12.04 a new 1-month low.

In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.03% or 0.40 to $1227.70 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.04% or 0.70 to hit $67.86 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.14% or 0.82 to trade at $72.98 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.15% to 1.1642, while USD/JPY fell 0.04% to 112.85.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.12% at 94.84.