Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Services, Technology and Utilities sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.12%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.23%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.71%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which rose 10.45% or 4.53 points to trade at 47.87 at the close. Meanwhile, McDonald`s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) added 1.79% or 1.74 points to end at 98.74 and EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) was up 1.03% or 0.73 points to 71.52 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which fell 0.98% or 1.47 points to trade at 148.40 at the close. United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) declined 0.94% or 1.10 points to end at 116.16 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was down 0.82% or 0.27 points to 32.09.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) which rose 14.13% to 445.10, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) which was up 10.45% to settle at 47.87 and Juniper Networks Inc (NYSE:JNPR) which gained 8.92% to close at 26.14.
The worst performers were Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX) which was down 8.75% to 11.99 in late trade, Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE:HBI) which lost 6.82% to settle at 32.22 and Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) which was down 6.64% to 401.71 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Affimed Therapeutics BV (NASDAQ:AFMD) which rose 42.06% to 11.72, Looksmart Ltd (NASDAQ:LOOK) which was up 23.12% to settle at 1.970 and Hong Kong Television Network Ltd (NASDAQ:HKTV) which gained 18.77% to close at 9.11.
The worst performers were Aerie Pharmace (NASDAQ:AERI) which was down 63.63% to 12.87 in late trade, American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC) which lost 31.20% to settle at 6.88 and StemCells Inc (NASDAQ:STEM) which was down 25.60% to 0.610 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1561 to 1530 and 2 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1561 fell and 1224 advanced, while 6 ended unchanged.
Shares in Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose to all time highs; gaining 14.13% or 55.11 to 445.10. Shares in Juniper Networks Inc (NYSE:JNPR) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 8.92% or 2.14 to 26.14. Shares in Affimed Therapeutics BV (NASDAQ:AFMD) rose to all time highs; up 42.06% or 3.47 to 11.72. Shares in Aerie Pharmace (NASDAQ:AERI) fell to 52-week lows; losing 63.63% or 22.52 to 12.87. Shares in StemCells Inc (NASDAQ:STEM) fell to 52-week lows; down 25.60% or 0.210 to 0.610.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.44% to 12.30 a new 3-months low.
Gold for June delivery was down 1.34% or 16.00 to $1178.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June fell 0.96% or 0.56 to hit $57.19 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.73% or 0.47 to trade at $65.33 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.40% to 1.0866, while USD/JPY fell 0.55% to 118.93.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.32% at 97.12.