Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Telecoms, Utilities and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.53%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.31%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.21%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 2.51% or 1.41 points to trade at 57.50 at the close. Meanwhile, EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) added 1.76% or 1.16 points to end at 66.92 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 1.41% or 0.70 points to 50.39 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 1.55% or 0.84 points to trade at 53.47 at the close. Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) declined 0.61% or 0.79 points to end at 129.37 and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) was down 0.12% or 0.04 points to 34.75.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Viacom B Inc (NASDAQ:VIAB) which rose 6.75% to 45.05, Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) which was up 4.73% to settle at 22.13 and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) which gained 4.16% to close at 19.78.
The worst performers were Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) which was down 6.07% to 152.64 in late trade, American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which lost 4.43% to settle at 29.14 and United Rentals Inc (NYSE:URI) which was down 4.05% to 67.01 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Globeimmune (NASDAQ:GBIM) which rose 45.38% to 2.050, Qualstar Corporation (NASDAQ:QBAK) which was up 38.23% to settle at 3.4800 and EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) which gained 20.58% to close at 11.25.
The worst performers were Hailiang Education Group Inc (NASDAQ:HLG) which was down 20.00% to 6.00 in late trade, Tonix Pharm (NASDAQ:TNXP) which lost 19.92% to settle at 1.970 and Cavium Inc (NASDAQ:CAVM) which was down 17.50% to 39.60 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1687 to 1608 and 29 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1379 fell and 1187 advanced, while 92 ended unchanged.
Shares in American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) fell to 52-week lows; losing 4.43% or 1.35 to 29.14. Shares in Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 4.16% or 0.79 to 19.78. Shares in Qualstar Corporation (NASDAQ:QBAK) rose to 5-year highs; up 38.23% or 0.9624 to 3.4800. Shares in Cavium Inc (NASDAQ:CAVM) fell to 52-week lows; losing 17.50% or 8.40 to 39.60.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.67% to 19.40.
Gold for August delivery was down 0.37% or 4.80 to $1283.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July fell 3.87% or 1.86 to hit $46.15 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 3.61% or 1.77 to trade at $47.20 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.24% to 1.1233, while USD/JPY fell 1.58% to 104.33.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.05% at 94.72.