Investing.com – U.S. equities were lower at the close on Friday, as losses in the Technology, Health Care and Industrials sectors propelled shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.45%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.30%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.49%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), which rose 1.98% or 0.84 points to trade at 43.30 at the close. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) added 0.67% or 1.07 points to end at 161.94 and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) was up 0.39% or 0.10 points to 25.99 in late trade.
Biggest losers included American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which lost 1.99% or 1.66 points to trade at 81.59 in late trade. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) declined 1.30% or 0.39 points to end at 29.52 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) shed 1.25% or 2.41 points to 189.79.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) which rose 13.13% to 141.12, Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) which was up 6.82% to settle at 105.81 and Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) which gained 5.29% to close at 64.24.
The worst performers were Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which was down 4.82% to 25.08 in late trade, NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) which lost 3.19% to settle at 23.98 and Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) which was down 3.05% to 44.52 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sophiris Bi (NASDAQ:SPHS) which rose 63.27% to 0.80, Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ:NYMX) which was up 50.55% to settle at 0.64 and Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CYCC) which gained 39.45% to close at 1.520.
The worst performers were Hercules Offshore Inc (NASDAQ:HERO) which was down 38.27% to 0.45 in late trade, Resonant Inc (NASDAQ:RESN) which lost 32.77% to settle at 10.40 and EnerNOC Inc (NASDAQ:ENOC) which was down 26.53% to 13.49 at the close.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1626 to 1197; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1758 fell and 1037 advanced, while 4 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.74% to 13.39 a new 1-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold for April delivery was up 0.20% or 2.40 to $1212.50 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude Oil for delivery in April rose 2.26% or 1.09 to hit $49.26 a barrel, while the April Brent Oil contract rose 3.30% or 1.98 to trade at $62.03 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.04% to 1.1193, while USD/JPY rose 0.17% to 119.62.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.05% at 95.30.