Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Technology, Basic Materials and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.68%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.88%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.43%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 2.42% or 2.52 points to trade at 106.45 at the close. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) added 2.01% or 1.77 points to end at 89.82 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was up 1.63% or 0.55 points to 34.20 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), which fell 0.88% or 1.19 points to trade at 133.82 at the close. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 0.58% or 0.38 points to end at 65.16 and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) was down 0.48% or 0.13 points to 27.08.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) which rose 8.52% to 9.94, Arconic Inc (NYSE:ARNC) which was up 5.77% to settle at 23.10 and TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) which gained 4.52% to close at 38.14.
The worst performers were Advance Auto Parts Inc (NYSE:AAP) which was down 4.30% to 116.71 in late trade, O'Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:ORLY) which lost 2.19% to settle at 217.02 and FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) which was down 2.09% to 29.10 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Spherix Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPEX) which rose 70.54% to 1.9100, Moleculin Biotech Inc (NASDAQ:MBRX) which was up 65.66% to settle at 3.28 and The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC) which gained 26.15% to close at 38.35.
The worst performers were Fenix Parts Inc (NASDAQ:FENX) which was down 61.54% to 0.600 in late trade, Meridian Waste Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MRDN) which lost 31.67% to settle at 1.64 and DryShips Inc (NASDAQ:DRYS) which was down 24.71% to 1.92 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2376 to 770 and 107 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1911 rose and 599 declined, while 114 ended unchanged.
Shares in Advance Auto Parts Inc (NYSE:AAP) fell to 3-years lows; falling 4.30% or 5.25 to 116.71. Shares in O'Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:ORLY) fell to 52-week lows; falling 2.19% or 4.85 to 217.02. Shares in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) fell to 52-week lows; down 0.48% or 0.13 to 27.08. Shares in Fenix Parts Inc (NASDAQ:FENX) fell to all time lows; losing 61.54% or 0.960 to 0.600. Shares in Meridian Waste Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MRDN) fell to all time lows; falling 31.67% or 0.76 to 1.64. Shares in The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC) rose to all time highs; up 26.15% or 7.95 to 38.35. Shares in DryShips Inc (NASDAQ:DRYS) fell to 5-year lows; down 24.71% or 0.63 to 1.92.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 9.22% to 10.04.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.33% or 4.07 to $1250.97 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 1.29% or 0.57 to hit $44.81 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.43% or 0.67 to trade at $47.59 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.34% to 1.1379, while USD/JPY fell 0.05% to 112.28.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.45% at 95.75.