Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.73%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.73%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.60%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 2.07% or 2.92 points to trade at 143.80 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 1.71% or 3.85 points to end at 229.33 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was up 1.57% or 1.44 points to 92.95 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), which fell 0.11% or 0.14 points to trade at 125.66 at the close. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) declined 0.06% or 0.02 points to end at 34.16 and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was down 0.03% or 0.04 points to 129.45.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) which rose 9.31% to 82.62, Red Hat Inc (NYSE:RHT) which was up 5.21% to settle at 86.48 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which gained 4.46% to close at 5.390.
The worst performers were McCormick & Company Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) which was down 2.89% to 98.43 in late trade, Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) which lost 2.68% to settle at 33.00 and Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) which was down 1.98% to 1.98 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Catalyst Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CBIO) which rose 179.52% to 15.010, Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:DFFN) which was up 81.75% to settle at 4.9800 and Akers Biosc (NASDAQ:AKER) which gained 67.86% to close at 2.350.
The worst performers were Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG) which was down 68.24% to 0.2307 in late trade, Cryoport Inc (NASDAQ:CYRX) which lost 42.73% to settle at 2.0100 and Cellect Biotechnology Ltd (NASDAQ:APOP) which was down 23.85% to 8.30 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2299 to 920 and 42 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1507 rose and 1004 declined, while 113 ended unchanged.
Shares in Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) rose to all time highs; gaining 9.31% or 7.04 to 82.62. Shares in Red Hat Inc (NYSE:RHT) rose to 5-year highs; rising 5.21% or 4.28 to 86.48. Shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose to all time highs; up 2.07% or 2.92 to 143.80. Shares in Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG) fell to all time lows; falling 68.24% or 0.4956 to 0.2307.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.84% to 11.52.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.36% or 4.55 to $1251.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 1.36% or 0.65 to hit $48.38 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 1.00% or 0.51 to trade at $51.41 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.46% to 1.0814, while USD/JPY rose 0.41% to 111.11.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.48% at 99.51.