Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Basic Materials and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.84%, while the S&P 500 index added 1.79%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.84%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 4.78% or 4.78 points to trade at 104.71 at the close. Meanwhile, EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) added 3.07% or 2.22 points to end at 74.53 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 2.94% or 1.36 points to 47.59 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which rose 0.37% or 0.35 points to trade at 94.36 at the close. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) added 0.79% or 0.83 points to end at 106.39 and AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) was up 0.89% or 0.29 points to 33.47.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Meadwestvaco Corporation (NYSE:MWV) which rose 5.80% to 45.59, Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) which was up 5.73% to settle at 50.02 and Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) which gained 5.33% to close at 74.37.
The worst performers were Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) which was down 2.19% to 183.81 in late trade, Navient Cor (NASDAQ:NAVI) which lost 1.53% to settle at 20.60 and Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) which was down 1.46% to 49.24 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Vascular Biogenc (NASDAQ:VBLT) which rose 38.03% to 10.78, Epirus Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EPRS) which was up 36.99% to settle at 8.000 and Bind Therap (NASDAQ:BIND) which gained 36.51% to close at 7.03.
The worst performers were Looksmart Ltd (NASDAQ:LOOK) which was down 21.82% to 0.860 in late trade, The Wet Seal Inc (NASDAQ:WTSL) which lost 18.83% to settle at 0.103 and Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) which was down 13.45% to 27.57 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2360 to 443; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2086 rose and 698 declined, while 4 ended unchanged.
Shares in Meadwestvaco Corporation (NYSE:MWV) rose to all time highs; rising 5.80% or 2.50 to 45.59.
Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; up 4.78% or 4.78 to 104.71.
Shares in Vascular Biogenc (NASDAQ:VBLT) rose to all time highs; rising 38.03% or 2.97 to 10.78.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 11.24% to 17.14.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.17% or 2.10 to $1208.60 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in commodities trading, crude oil for delivery in February rose 0.69% or 0.34 to hit $48.98 a barrel, while the February brent oil contract fell 0.05% or 0.03 to trade at $51.12 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.39% to 1.1793, while USD/JPY rose 0.35% to 119.66.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.37% at 92.56.