Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Consumer Goods and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.85%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.58%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which rose 1.62% or 5.46 points to trade at 342.66 at the close. Meanwhile, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) added 1.56% or 0.79 points to end at 51.53 and Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) was up 1.36% or 3.08 points to 230.36 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), which fell 1.91% or 0.58 points to trade at 29.74 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 1.70% or 2.91 points to end at 168.21 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was down 1.34% or 2.14 points to 157.50.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM) which rose 4.82% to 244.65, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which was up 4.74% to settle at 459.83 and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) which gained 4.72% to close at 124.54.
The worst performers were Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) which was down 13.11% to 114.79 in late trade, Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) which lost 3.89% to settle at 37.05 and Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) which was down 3.46% to 56.70 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp II (NASDAQ:EDTX) which rose 202.94% to 43.23, Genesis Growth Tech Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:GGAA) which was up 78.40% to settle at 21.23 and Nikola Corp (NASDAQ:NKLA) which gained 60.87% to close at 2.22.
The worst performers were First Wave BioPharma Inc (NASDAQ:FWBI) which was down 32.46% to 0.90 in late trade, Healthcare Triangle Inc (NASDAQ:HCTI) which lost 30.65% to settle at 4.30 and SunCar Technology Group Inc (NASDAQ:SDA) which was down 30.09% to 8.18 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2052 to 900 and 85 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2251 rose and 1296 declined, while 132 ended unchanged.
Shares in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.74% or 20.82 to 459.83. Shares in Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 1.36% or 3.08 to 230.36. Shares in EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp II (NASDAQ:EDTX) rose to all time highs; up 202.94% or 28.96 to 43.23. Shares in First Wave BioPharma Inc (NASDAQ:FWBI) fell to all time lows; losing 32.46% or 0.44 to 0.90. Shares in Genesis Growth Tech Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:GGAA) rose to all time highs; rising 78.40% or 9.33 to 21.23.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.52% to 13.61.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.15% or 2.95 to $1,964.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 2.01% or 1.52 to hit $77.27 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.95% or 1.56 to trade at $81.67 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.89% to 1.12, while USD/JPY fell 0.32% to 138.05.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.76% at 99.43.