Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.40% to hit a new 52-week high, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.53%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.64%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 3.09% or 2.32 points to trade at 77.37 at the close. Meanwhile, EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) added 2.86% or 1.77 points to end at 63.69 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 2.81% or 1.68 points to 61.49 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), which rose 0.28% or 0.34 points to trade at 122.85 at the close. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) added 0.32% or 0.39 points to end at 121.31 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 0.33% or 0.47 points to 141.27.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were CBRE Group Inc (NYSE:CBG) which rose 6.42% to 26.20, CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which was up 5.79% to settle at 24.86 and Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) which gained 5.20% to close at 9.82.
The worst performers were Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) which was down 2.82% to 158.15 in late trade, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which lost 1.21% to settle at 88.96 and Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) which was down 0.70% to 56.51 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Digital Ally Inc (NASDAQ:DGLY) which rose 61.99% to 6.690, Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ:CLWT) which was up 48.87% to settle at 3.290 and Echo Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ECTE) which gained 29.71% to close at 1.790.
The worst performers were Juno Therapeutic (NASDAQ:JUNO) which was down 31.87% to 27.81 in late trade, SemiLEDS Corporation (NASDAQ:LEDS) which lost 31.23% to settle at 6.9800 and T2 Biosystms Inc (NASDAQ:TTOO) which was down 30.09% to 5.32 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2840 to 443 and 27 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2148 rose and 444 declined, while 47 ended unchanged.
Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose to all time highs; up 0.28% or 0.34 to 122.85. Shares in T2 Biosystms Inc (NASDAQ:TTOO) fell to all time lows; falling 30.09% or 2.29 to 5.32.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 10.16% to 13.26 a new 1-month low.
Gold for August delivery was up 0.33% or 4.50 to $1366.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.22% or 0.10 to hit $45.24 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.54% or 0.25 to trade at $46.65 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.14% to 1.1048, while USD/JPY fell 0.31% to 100.47.
The US Dollar Index was unchanged 0.00% at 96.33.