Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.15% to hit a new 3-months high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.46%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.59%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which rose 1.30% or 1.62 points to trade at 126.42 at the close. Meanwhile, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) added 1.00% or 0.54 points to end at 54.69 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 0.80% or 1.61 points to 202.06 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW), which fell 4.14% or 2.47 points to trade at 57.24 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 0.99% or 3.93 points to end at 391.93 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 0.86% or 0.70 points to 81.15.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) which rose 6.59% to 35.57, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which was up 6.23% to settle at 3.410 and EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG) which gained 5.30% to close at 98.63.
The worst performers were Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) which was down 5.12% to 26.85 in late trade, Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) which lost 4.14% to settle at 57.24 and Capri Holdings Ltd (NYSE:CPRI) which was down 2.47% to 48.09 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Vital Thera (NASDAQ:VTL) which rose 145.82% to 0.51, Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II (NASDAQ:AMR) which was up 26.42% to settle at 0.28 and RumbleON Inc (NASDAQ:RMBL) which gained 21.74% to close at 5.60.
The worst performers were LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN) which was down 27.88% to 69.69 in late trade, Duluth Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:DLTH) which lost 25.23% to settle at 17.60 and Syros Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SYRS) which was down 23.28% to 7.48 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2114 to 856 and 123 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1802 rose and 828 declined, while 80 ended unchanged.
Shares in LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN) fell to 52-week lows; down 27.88% or 26.94 to 69.69.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.60% to 12.82 a new 6-months low.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.12% or 1.50 to $1295.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 1.88% or 1.17 to hit $63.27 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 1.46% or 1.01 to trade at $70.41 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.08% to 1.1228, while USD/JPY rose 0.05% to 111.70.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 96.998.