U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.09%

U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, with losses in Technology, Industrials, and Basic Materials sectors dragging down major indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.09%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.82% and the NASDAQ Composite fell the most at 2.86%. Verizon Communications Inc emerged as the best performer on the Dow, rising 2.47% to 44.74.

Merck & Company and Walmart also posted gains of 2.18% and 1.86% respectively. Conversely, NVIDIA Corporation suffered the steepest decline, slipping 4.22% to 204.64. Caterpillar Inc and Cisco Systems also declined, with losses of 3.81% and 3.76% respectively. The top performers on the S&P 500 index were FMC Corporation and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, which rose by 30.50% and 13.33% respectively.

Intel Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated, and Advanced Micro Devices Inc were among the worst performers on the same index. Similarly, OneConstruction Group Ltd, Sangrix Inc, and Smart Logistics Global Ltd were the top gainers on the NASDAQ Composite, with gains of 108.15%, 83.51%, and 48.97% respectively. Conversely, Acumen Pharmaceuticals Inc, ProMIS Neurosciences Inc, and Solowin Holdings Ltd were the worst performers on the same index.

The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of S&P 500 options implied volatility, rose by 13.02% to 19.44. Gold prices fell by 0.27% to $3,888.37 per troy ounce, while Crude oil and Brent oil futures also experienced declines. The EUR/USD exchange rate remained stable at 1.12, while the USD/JPY rate fell by 0.09% to 157.57. USD Index Futures also showed a slight gain of 0.01% at 101.76.