Following Thursday’s trading session, U.S. stocks faced downward pressure, predominantly driven by losses in the Technology, Consumer Services, and Healthcare sectors, which led the major indices into negative territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) experienced a decline of 1.35%, while the S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ Composite index dropped 1.23% and 1.40%, respectively, at the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Among the top performers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corp (CVX) and Walmart Inc (WMT), with modest gains of 0.16% and 0.12%, respectively. Conversely, Salesforce Inc (CRM) emerged as one of the session’s worst performers, witnessing a notable decline of 3.48%, trailed by 3M Company (MMM) and American Express Company (AXP), which dropped 2.84% and 2.81%, respectively.
On the S&P 500, Conagra Brands Inc (CAG) led the gainers with a remarkable rise of 5.44%, followed by MarketAxess Holdings Inc (MKTX) and CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF), which advanced by 4.58% and 3.57%, respectively. However, Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (LW) experienced a significant decline of 19.33%, while Paramount Global Class B (PARA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) dropped 8.51% and 8.26%, respectively.
Moving to the NASDAQ Composite, Candel Therapeutics Inc (CADL) emerged as the top performer with a remarkable surge of 280.95%, followed by TC BioPharm Holdings PLC (TCBP) and HWH International Inc (HWH), which gained 50.00% and 46.50%, respectively. On the flip side, Effector Therapeutics Inc (EFTR) suffered a substantial decline of 82.03%, while Keyarch Acquisition Corp (KYCH) and Jiuzi Holdings Inc (JZXN) dropped 54.80% and 40.94%, respectively.
In terms of market breadth, falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (LW) saw its shares plummet to 52-week lows, while Candel Therapeutics Inc (CADL) reached 52-week highs. Conversely, shares in Effector Therapeutics Inc (EFTR) and Keyarch Acquisition Corp (KYCH) fell to all-time lows.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, surged 0.92% to reach a new three-month high.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for June delivery experienced a marginal decline of 0.04%, while Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.13%. Meanwhile, the June Brent oil contract rose 0.10%.
In forex trading, EUR/USD remained unchanged, while USD/JPY saw a slight uptick.
The US Dollar Index Futures gained 0.14% at 104.04.