Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Healthcare, Basic Materials and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.42%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.62%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.79%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (O:AAPL), which rose 3.17% or 3.60 points to trade at 117.29 at the close. Meanwhile, Nike Inc (N:NKE) added 2.61% or 3.20 points to end at 125.78 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH) was up 2.50% or 2.86 points to 117.25 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (N:DD), which rose 0.04% or 0.03 points to trade at 67.10 at the close. United Technologies Corporation (N:UTX) added 0.16% or 0.16 points to end at 97.71 and Home Depot Inc (N:HD) was up 0.29% or 0.36 points to 126.54.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were CONSOL Energy Inc (N:CNX) which rose 7.66% to 8.29, TripAdvisor Inc (O:TRIP) which was up 7.12% to settle at 83.68 and Norfolk Southern Corporation (N:NSC) which gained 6.35% to close at 92.49.
The worst performers were Citrix Systems Inc (O:CTXS) which was down 10.05% to 70.54 in late trade, Qualcomm Incorporated (O:QCOM) which lost 9.40% to settle at 48.00 and Target Corporation (N:TGT) which was down 4.29% to 69.78 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Anavex Life Sciences Corp (O:AVXL) which rose 63.58% to 5.300, Axion Power International Inc (O:AXPW) which was up 36.45% to settle at 1.460 and Caredx Inc (O:CDNA) which gained 26.60% to close at 6.14.
The worst performers were Rada Electronic Industries Ltd (O:RADA) which was down 33.33% to 0.440 in late trade, Speed Commerce Inc (O:SPDC) which lost 29.58% to settle at 0.100 and Lilis Energy Inc (O:LLEX) which was down 21.40% to 0.180 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2572 to 878 and 6 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1762 rose and 883 declined, while 52 ended unchanged.
Shares in Qualcomm Incorporated (O:QCOM) fell to 3-years lows; falling 9.40% or 4.98 to 48.00. Shares in Home Depot Inc (N:HD) rose to all time highs; gaining 0.29% or 0.36 to 126.54. Shares in Rada Electronic Industries Ltd (O:RADA) fell to all time lows; losing 33.33% or 0.220 to 0.440. Shares in Speed Commerce Inc (O:SPDC) fell to all time lows; down 29.58% or 0.042 to 0.100. Shares in Lilis Energy Inc (O:LLEX) fell to all time lows; losing 21.40% or 0.049 to 0.180.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 10.56% to 16.85.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.08% or 0.90 to $1069.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.05% or 0.02 to hit $40.69 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 1.47% or 0.64 to trade at $44.21 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.14% to 1.0657, while USD/JPY rose 0.08% to 123.54.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.06% at 99.66.