Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Utilities sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.19%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.06%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.07%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 2.02% or 1.86 points to trade at 94.13 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 1.16% or 2.05 points to end at 178.70 and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) was up 0.95% or 1.06 points to 112.99 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.94% or 0.52 points to trade at 55.04 at the close. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) declined 0.65% or 0.58 points to end at 88.78 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 0.42% or 0.33 points to 78.26.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) which rose 9.82% to 9.51, Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which was up 8.87% to settle at 8.59 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which gained 6.76% to close at 6.320.
The worst performers were Acuity Brands Inc (NYSE:AYI) which was down 14.77% to 173.93 in late trade, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which lost 7.01% to settle at 100.78 and Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) which was down 5.51% to 43.92 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were General Communication Inc (NASDAQ:GNCMA) which rose 62.40% to 33.39, China Auto Logistics Inc (NASDAQ:CALI) which was up 54.89% to settle at 2.850 and One Horizon (NASDAQ:OHGI) which gained 44.40% to close at 0.4000.
The worst performers were Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CRVS) which was down 49.98% to 10.36 in late trade, Unilife Corp (NASDAQ:UNIS) which lost 26.47% to settle at 1.2500 and Terravia Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:TVIA) which was down 24.64% to 0.505 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1597 to 1595 and 50 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1462 fell and 1025 advanced, while 131 ended unchanged.
Shares in Acuity Brands Inc (NYSE:AYI) fell to 52-week lows; down 14.77% or 30.13 to 173.93. Shares in General Communication Inc (NASDAQ:GNCMA) rose to all time highs; up 62.40% or 12.83 to 33.39. Shares in Unilife Corp (NASDAQ:UNIS) fell to 52-week lows; losing 26.47% or 0.4500 to 1.2500. Shares in Terravia Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:TVIA) fell to all time lows; down 24.64% or 0.165 to 0.505.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.33% to 11.72.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.35% or 4.35 to $1258.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 1.73% or 0.87 to hit $51.11 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 2.05% or 1.09 to trade at $54.21 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.02% to 1.0672, while USD/JPY fell 0.15% to 110.73.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.07% at 100.43.