Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Industrials and Telecoms sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.69%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.73%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.53%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which rose 2.10% or 0.95 points to trade at 46.29 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.77% or 1.02 points to end at 58.54 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was up 1.70% or 1.27 points to 76.01 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD), which fell 0.79% or 0.44 points to trade at 55.46 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 0.58% or 0.45 points to end at 77.33 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 0.32% or 0.39 points to 122.99.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Citrix Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CTXS) which rose 8.10% to 75.27, Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ:CERN) which was up 7.17% to settle at 73.40 and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) which gained 6.18% to close at 173.44.
The worst performers were CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX) which was down 6.03% to 16.68 in late trade, Level 3 Communications Inc (NYSE:LVLT) which lost 5.92% to settle at 49.39 and International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) which was down 3.57% to 46.99 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Republic Airways Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RJET) which rose 52.91% to 5.26, Natural Health Trend (NASDAQ:NHTC) which was up 39.08% to settle at 34.3800 and Strayer Education Inc (NASDAQ:STRA) which gained 27.73% to close at 53.34.
The worst performers were Wave Systems Corp (NASDAQ:WAVX) which was down 39.10% to 0.135 in late trade, Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ:BGFV) which lost 29.42% to settle at 10.51 and VASCO Data Security International (NASDAQ:VDSI) which was down 22.98% to 20.45 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2358 to 730 and 1 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1566 rose and 1200 declined, while 4 ended unchanged.
Shares in Citrix Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CTXS) rose to 52-week highs; rising 8.10% or 5.64 to 75.27. Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) rose to all time highs; up 6.18% or 10.10 to 173.44. Shares in EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) fell to 52-week lows; falling 0.79% or 0.44 to 55.46. Shares in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) rose to 52-week highs; rising 1.70% or 1.27 to 76.01. Shares in Wave Systems Corp (NASDAQ:WAVX) fell to all time lows; falling 39.10% or 0.087 to 0.135.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.99% to 12.50.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.02% or 0.20 to $1096.90 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.72% or 0.82 to hit $48.81 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.40% or 0.21 to trade at $53.52 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.66% to 1.0987, while USD/JPY rose 0.28% to 123.92.
The US Dollar Index was unchanged 0.00% at 97.22.