U.S. stocks closed mixed at the end of trading on Wednesday, with indices trending higher, and gains were recorded in the sectors of oil and natural gas, communications, and healthcare services. Conversely, losses were recorded in the sectors of technology, consumer services, and industries, leading the indices lower.
At the end of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.04%, while the S&P 500 index fell by about 0.24% and the NASDAQ Composite dropped by about 0.67%.
Among the leading stocks today in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, shares of Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) rose by 2.05% or 5.52 points, reaching a price of 274.39 at the close. In contrast, shares of Walmart Stores (NYSE:WMT) continued to rise at 1.27% or 1.29 points and closed at a price of 102.58, while shares of Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) increased by 1.08% or 4.50 points at a price of 420.59 at the end of the session.
As for the weakest performance at the end of today's trading, shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed down by 1.98% or 4.57 points, trading at levels of 225.99 at the close. Shares of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell by 1.86% or 4.23 points at a price of 223.78, while shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) closed down by 1.45% or 4.40 points at a price of 299.84.
On the other hand, the best performance in the S&P 500 index was recorded by Analog Devices Inc (NASDAQ:ADI), which rose by 6.23% at a price of 244.79. McKesson Corp (NYSE:MCK) also continued its rise at 3.85% and closed at levels of 702.94, and shares of Paramount Skydance Corp (NASDAQ:PSKY) rose by about 3.70% and ended trading at a price of 13.98.
Among the weakest performing stocks today, we mention shares of Intel Group Inc (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell by 7.03% and closed its session at a price of 23.53, shares of Target Corp (NYSE:TGT), which lost 6.33% at a price of 98.69, and shares of Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL), which weakened by 4.97% and ended at a price of 128.48 in today's session on the stock exchange.
