Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.13%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.22%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.22%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which rose 1.82% or 1.33 points to trade at 74.26 at the close. Meanwhile, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) added 1.30% or 1.33 points to end at 103.55 and EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) was up 1.20% or 0.82 points to 69.44 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 1.23% or 1.04 points to trade at 83.37 at the close. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) declined 0.98% or 1.33 points to end at 134.82 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was down 0.78% or 0.24 points to 30.48.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) which rose 17.43% to 33.88, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which was up 9.07% to settle at 6.195 and Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) which gained 7.83% to close at 28.10.
The worst performers were Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) which was down 3.51% to 46.73 in late trade, CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which lost 2.45% to settle at 22.74 and Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) which was down 2.19% to 8.48 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sunedison Semiconductor Ltd (NASDAQ:SEMI) which rose 39.01% to 11.51, GWG Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GWGH) which was up 35.25% to settle at 10.82 and Sophiris Bio Inc (NASDAQ:SPHS) which gained 27.64% to close at 5.680.
The worst performers were Auris Medical Holding AG (NASDAQ:EARS) which was down 59.81% to 2.150 in late trade, Cerulean Ph (NASDAQ:CERU) which lost 56.20% to settle at 1.200 and Juniper Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:JNP) which was down 19.13% to 5.750 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2208 to 954 and 86 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1677 rose and 862 declined, while 97 ended unchanged.
Shares in Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 1.82% or 1.33 to 74.26. Shares in Auris Medical Holding AG (NASDAQ:EARS) fell to all time lows; down 59.81% or 3.200 to 2.150. Shares in GWG Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GWGH) rose to 52-week highs; up 35.25% or 2.82 to 10.82. Shares in Cerulean Ph (NASDAQ:CERU) fell to all time lows; losing 56.20% or 1.540 to 1.200.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.23% to 11.43.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.61% or 8.25 to $1357.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 3.21% or 1.50 to hit $48.29 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 2.03% or 1.01 to trade at $50.86 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.58% to 1.1355, while USD/JPY fell 0.34% to 99.94.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.61% at 94.11.