Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Healthcare and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.31%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.45%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.48%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which rose 2.88% or 0.72 points to trade at 25.73 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 1.21% or 2.33 points to end at 194.89 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 1.17% or 1.17 points to 101.33 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 0.88% or 1.02 points to trade at 114.57 at the close. McDonald`s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) declined 0.31% or 0.30 points to end at 96.55 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was down 0.24% or 0.12 points to 49.01.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) which rose 5.69% to 136.63, ENSCO plc (NYSE:ESV) which was up 5.68% to settle at 24.02 and Walgreen Co (NYSE:WBA) which gained 5.63% to close at 92.62.
The worst performers were Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) which was down 5.43% to 73.46 in late trade, Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) which lost 3.37% to settle at 13.21 and Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) which was down 2.78% to 75.87 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were China Gerui Advanced Materials (NASDAQ:CHOP) which rose 65.26% to 1.570, China Housing & Land Development (NASDAQ:CHLN) which was up 46.81% to settle at 0.529 and WPCS International Incorporated (NASDAQ:WPCS) which gained 43.17% to close at 0.265.
The worst performers were Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) which was down 17.93% to 2.38 in late trade, Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ:NYMX) which lost 15.22% to settle at 1.170 and Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution (NASDAQ:KONE) which was down 13.25% to 5.370 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1424 to 1386; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1414 fell and 1349 advanced, while 10 ended unchanged.
Shares in Walgreen Co (NYSE:WBA) rose to all time highs; up 5.63% or 4.94 to 92.62.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.29% to 13.10.
Gold for June delivery was down 0.76% or 9.20 to $1193.90 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 0.39% or 0.20 to hit $50.62 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 2.00% or 1.11 to trade at $56.66 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 1.10% to 1.0661, while USD/JPY rose 0.37% to 120.57.
The US Dollar Index was up 1.01% at 99.25.