Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Telecoms, Consumer Goods and Technology sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.55% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.32%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.14%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 3.03% or 1.53 points to trade at 52.10 at the close. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) added 2.89% or 3.72 points to end at 132.46 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was up 2.85% or 2.20 points to 79.31 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which fell 1.24% or 0.39 points to trade at 31.17 at the close. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declined 0.87% or 0.98 points to end at 111.08 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 0.43% or 0.26 points to 60.02.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) which rose 8.30% to 69.15, Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which was up 7.24% to settle at 20.44 and Delphi Automotive plc (NYSE:DLPH) which gained 6.76% to close at 70.33.
The worst performers were Universal Health Services Inc (NYSE:UHS) which was down 11.93% to 111.30 in late trade, Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which lost 4.86% to settle at 15.09 and Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which was down 4.43% to 51.34 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Interpace Diagnostics Group Inc (NASDAQ:IDXG) which rose 108.33% to 0.2500, Rennova Health Inc (NASDAQ:RNVA) which was up 38.38% to settle at 0.128 and Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ANTH) which gained 38.10% to close at 2.030.
The worst performers were Sigma Designs Inc (NASDAQ:SIGM) which was down 27.74% to 5.60 in late trade, Delta Technology Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:DELT) which lost 15.62% to settle at 0.7510 and Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) which was down 15.18% to 1.62 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2370 to 790 and 83 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1528 rose and 967 declined, while 138 ended unchanged.
Shares in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) rose to 52-week highs; up 8.30% or 5.30 to 69.15. Shares in Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) rose to 52-week highs; rising 7.24% or 1.38 to 20.44. Shares in Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) fell to 52-week lows; losing 4.43% or 2.38 to 51.34. Shares in Sigma Designs Inc (NASDAQ:SIGM) fell to 52-week lows; losing 27.74% or 2.15 to 5.60.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 3.73% to 12.23.
Gold for February delivery was up 0.35% or 4.05 to $1174.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 2.12% or 1.08 to hit $49.85 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 1.69% or 0.91 to trade at $53.02 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.37% to 1.0758, while USD/JPY fell 0.19% to 113.80.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.26% at 100.25.