U.S. shares declined at the close of trading; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.93%

U.S. equities declined at the close on Friday, with losses in the Dow Jones Consumer Goods, Dow Jones Oil & Gas, and Dow Jones Technology sectors driving shares lower.

At the NYSE close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.93%, the S&P 500 index dropped 0.71%, and the NASDAQ Composite index decreased 0.78%.

Top gainers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average included Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 1.22% or 1.52 points to close at 125.77, Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which added 0.46% or 0.34 points to end at 72.72, and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which increased 0.35% or 0.59 points to 168.02.

The biggest losers included Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV), which fell 7.76% or 17.12 points to 203.48, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which declined 5.42% or 1.89 points to 32.98, and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which dropped 2.74% or 6.82 points to 242.38.

On the S&P 500, the top performers were Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:ISRG), up 9.34% to 455.01, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), up 6.85% to 79.28, and Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN), up 3.92% to 14.86.

The worst performers were Comerica Inc (NYSE:CMA), down 10.49% to 50.42, W. R. Berkley Corp (NYSE:WRB), down 8.31% to 51.54, and Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV), down 7.76% to 203.48.

On the NASDAQ Composite, top performers included Serve Robotics Inc (NASDAQ:SERV), up 187.07% to 7.55, Augmedix Inc (NASDAQ:AUGX), up 146.62% to 2.26, and Exicure Inc (NASDAQ:XCUR), up 76.02% to 0.54.

The worst performers were SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR), down 55.01% to 0.68, Hyzon Motors Inc (NASDAQ:HYZN), down 47.50% to 0.15, and Trxade Group Inc (NASDAQ:MEDS), down 29.54% to 14.74.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 1820 to 990, with 104 ending unchanged on the NYSE; on the NASDAQ, 2131 fell and 1176 advanced, while 147 ended unchanged.

Shares in Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:ISRG) reached a 5-year high, rising 9.34% or 38.87 to 455.01. Shares in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) reached a 52-week high, up 3.92% or 0.56 to 14.86. Shares in SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) fell to an all-time low, losing 55.01% or 0.83 to 0.68. Shares in Hyzon Motors Inc (NASDAQ:HYZN) also fell to an all-time low, down 47.50% or 0.13 to 0.15.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, increased 3.70% to 16.52, a new 1-month high.

Gold Futures for August delivery fell 2.26% or 55.45 to $2,400.95 a troy ounce. In commodities trading, Crude oil for September delivery dropped 3.12% or 2.54 to $78.76 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 2.75% or 2.34 to $82.77 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged at 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.07% to 157.49.

The U.S. Dollar Index Futures increased by 0.19% to 104.08.