Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Healthcare, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.73% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.80%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.90%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 2.31% or 1.15 points to trade at 50.95 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 1.80% or 0.57 points to end at 32.31 and Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) was up 1.78% or 2.39 points to 137.02 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.88% or 1.09 points to trade at 122.10 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 0.62% or 0.44 points to end at 70.38 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 0.57% or 0.64 points to 110.67.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which rose 9.97% to 13.01, Tegna Inc (NYSE:TGNA) which was up 7.07% to settle at 25.5900 and Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW) which gained 6.18% to close at 5.50.
The worst performers were Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM) which was down 18.83% to 67.71 in late trade, Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) which lost 5.28% to settle at 80.65 and Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE:MJN) which was down 3.65% to 72.35 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Looksmart Ltd (NASDAQ:LOOK) which rose 31.72% to 0.750, Dex Media Inc (NASDAQ:DXM) which was up 26.94% to settle at 0.20 and Alimera Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:ALIM) which gained 26.73% to close at 2.560.
The worst performers were Axion Power International Inc (NASDAQ:AXPW) which was down 29.73% to 1.300 in late trade, Contravir Pharmaceut (NASDAQ:CTRV) which lost 20.55% to settle at 3.17 and QKL Stores Inc (NASDAQ:QKLS) which was down 19.30% to 0.920 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1993 to 548; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1848 rose and 727 declined, while 47 ended unchanged.
Shares in QKL Stores Inc (NASDAQ:QKLS) fell to 52-week lows; down 19.30% or 0.220 to 0.920.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.26% to 18.38 a new 1-month low.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.10% or 1.10 to $1145.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 0.89% or 0.43 to hit $48.10 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 0.59% or 0.30 to trade at $51.62 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.28% to 1.1241, while USD/JPY fell 0.20% to 119.97.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.12% at 95.64.