Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Healthcare, Consumer Goods and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.07%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.13%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.28%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 0.90% or 1.45 points to trade at 163.03 at the close. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) added 0.58% or 0.49 points to end at 84.96 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 0.52% or 0.39 points to 74.97 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which fell 0.49% or 0.31 points to trade at 63.24 at the close. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) declined 0.47% or 0.58 points to end at 123.14 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was down 0.44% or 0.23 points to 51.91.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) which rose 4.16% to 31.56, Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (NYSE:DNB) which was up 3.68% to settle at 123.27 and Red Hat Inc (NYSE:RHT) which gained 3.35% to close at 71.01.
The worst performers were Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) which was down 3.11% to 116.36 in late trade, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) which lost 1.47% to settle at 40.77 and Arconic Inc (NYSE:ARNC) which was down 1.44% to 19.78 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Inventergy (NASDAQ:INVT) which rose 39.61% to 0.670, Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA) which was up 33.80% to settle at 25.06 and Moleculin Biotech Inc (NASDAQ:MBRX) which gained 29.80% to close at 1.96.
The worst performers were Memorial Production Partners LP (NASDAQ:MEMP) which was down 55.77% to 0.180 in late trade, Strongbridge Biopharma plc (NASDAQ:SBBP) which lost 30.56% to settle at 2.5000 and Metabolix Inc (NASDAQ:MBLX) which was down 13.95% to 0.370 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1885 to 1318 and 63 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1703 rose and 790 declined, while 137 ended unchanged.
Shares in Memorial Production Partners LP (NASDAQ:MEMP) fell to all time lows; down 55.77% or 0.227 to 0.180. Shares in Strongbridge Biopharma plc (NASDAQ:SBBP) fell to all time lows; losing 30.56% or 1.1000 to 2.5000.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.09% to 11.44.
Gold for February delivery was up 0.22% or 2.45 to $1133.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 0.26% or 0.14 to hit $53.09 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 0.05% or 0.03 to trade at $55.08 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.15% to 1.0452, while USD/JPY fell 0.15% to 117.37.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.08% at 102.99.