Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.50%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.28%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.21%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 2.85% or 1.71 points to trade at 61.63 at the close. Meanwhile, International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) added 1.35% or 2.23 points to end at 167.75 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 1.32% or 3.19 points to 245.76 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which fell 1.82% or 0.61 points to trade at 32.83 at the close. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declined 1.23% or 1.43 points to end at 114.73 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was down 0.79% or 0.42 points to 52.69.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) which rose 4.82% to 35.00, CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which was up 4.46% to settle at 34.19 and Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG) which gained 4.03% to close at 15.75.
The worst performers were Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which was down 8.49% to 14.01 in late trade, Perrigo Co (NYSE:PRGO) which lost 6.90% to settle at 77.88 and Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which was down 6.16% to 50.44 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Myos Rens Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MYOS) which rose 424.62% to 6.820, Fuwei Films Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:FFHL) which was up 97.87% to settle at 3.7200 and Dextera Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:DXTR) which gained 81.58% to close at 2.0700.
The worst performers were EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ:ETRM) which was down 44.77% to 15.3000 in late trade, Signal Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:SGNL) which lost 37.64% to settle at 10.9000 and Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:DFFN) which was down 28.14% to 6.0000 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2110 to 1094 and 44 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1312 rose and 1199 declined, while 107 ended unchanged.
Shares in Perrigo Co (NYSE:PRGO) fell to 5-year lows; falling 6.90% or 5.77 to 77.88. Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 1.32% or 3.19 to 245.76. Shares in Myos Rens Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MYOS) rose to 52-week highs; up 424.62% or 5.520 to 6.820.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.44% to 11.21 a new 52-week low.
Gold for February delivery was up 0.55% or 6.50 to $1192.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 3.15% or 1.60 to hit $52.42 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 3.17% or 1.70 to trade at $55.34 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.23% to 1.0580, while USD/JPY fell 0.34% to 115.38.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.28% at 101.72.