U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.19% By Investing.com

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the , and sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the declined 0.19%, while the index lost 0.63%, and the index fell 1.21%.

The best performers of the session on the were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:), which rose 1.98% or 10.09 points to trade at 520.82 at the close. Meanwhile, Walmart Inc (NYSE:) added 1.79% or 2.64 points to end at 149.87 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) was up 1.04% or 1.85 points to 179.59 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:), which fell 2.91% or 9.25 points to trade at 308.46 at the close. Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:) declined 2.87% or 6.35 points to end at 214.94 and Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:) was down 1.83% or 4.17 points to 223.95.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Phillips 66 (NYSE:) which rose 4.76% to 87.44, Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:) which was up 3.95% to settle at 100.50 and Paychex Inc (NASDAQ:) which gained 3.29% to close at 136.89.

The worst performers were PVH Corp (NYSE:) which was down 6.54% to 82.69 in late trade, Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:) which lost 5.85% to settle at 134.56 and Mohawk Industries Inc (NYSE:) which was down 5.69% to 130.93 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Direct Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:) which rose 60.47% to 4.14, Hillstream Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:) which was up 39.04% to settle at 2.03 and Adagio Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:) which gained 30.39% to close at 5.02.

The worst performers were Akebia Ther (NASDAQ:) which was down 66.02% to 0.83 in late trade, Revelation Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:) which lost 38.32% to settle at 1.32 and Calithera Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:) which was down 34.95% to 0.39 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1909 to 1296 and 113 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2623 fell and 1183 advanced, while 162 ended unchanged.

Shares in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:) rose to 52-week highs; up 3.95% or 3.82 to 100.50. Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.98% or 10.09 to 520.82. Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) rose to all time highs; rising 1.04% or 1.85 to 179.59. Shares in Direct Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:) rose to all time highs; gaining 60.47% or 1.56 to 4.14. Shares in Akebia Ther (NASDAQ:) fell to all time lows; down 66.02% or 1.61 to 0.83. Shares in Calithera Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:) fell to all time lows; down 34.95% or 0.21 to 0.39.

The , which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.28% to 19.33.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.11% or 21.30 to $1,933.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 3.02% or 3.15 to hit $107.39 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 2.94% or 3.17 to trade at $110.88 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.67% to 1.12, while USD/JPY fell 0.83% to 121.82.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.56% at 97.89.