U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.55%

U.S. stocks were lower after the close on last Friday, as losses in the Telecoms, Healthcare and Utilities sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.55%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.29%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.13%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 1.87% or 4.49 points to trade at 245.07 at the close. Meanwhile, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) added 1.04% or 1.00 points to end at 97.31 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was up 0.88% or 1.35 points to 154.23 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 2.46% or 2.75 points to trade at 109.00 at the close. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 2.27% or 3.57 points to end at 153.54 and Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 2.09% or 3.18 points to 148.81.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB) which rose 8.63% to 53.36, Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) which was up 7.79% to settle at 35.58 and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) which gained 6.90% to close at 7.28.

The worst performers were Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) which was down 3.48% to 275.07 in late trade, Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) which lost 2.50% to settle at 429.97 and Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) which was down 2.46% to 109.00 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Gorilla Technology Group Inc (NASDAQ:GRRR) which rose 124.88% to 4.70, Vinco Ventures Inc (NASDAQ:BBIG) which was up 56.67% to settle at 1.88 and Castle Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CSTL) which gained 52.86% to close at 20.30.

The worst performers were Painreform Ltd (NASDAQ:PRFX) which was down 19.46% to 4.47 in late trade, EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp II (NASDAQ:EDTX) which lost 19.39% to settle at 18.50 and iMedia Brands Inc (NASDAQ:IMBI) which was down 18.52% to 0.11 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2155 to 793 and 74 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2322 rose and 1196 declined, while 114 ended unchanged.

Shares in Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) fell to 52-week lows; losing 2.50% or 11.02 to 429.97. Shares in iMedia Brands Inc (NASDAQ:IMBI) fell to all time lows; falling 18.52% or 0.03 to 0.11.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.95% to 14.83.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.79% or 15.10 to $1,930.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 2.60% or 1.87 to hit $73.67 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 2.33% or 1.78 to trade at $78.30 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.73% to 1.10, while USD/JPY fell 1.36% to 142.10.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.89% at 101.95.