Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Telecoms and Technology sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.29%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.45%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.75%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which rose 1.69% or 2.09 points to trade at 125.44 at the close. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) added 1.57% or 0.68 points to end at 44.05 and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) was up 1.43% or 1.09 points to 77.52 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 1.22% or 1.64 points to trade at 132.65 at the close. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) declined 0.87% or 1.81 points to end at 205.96 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was down 0.67% or 0.32 points to 47.55.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which rose 5.52% to 1.910, Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) which was up 4.97% to settle at 54.04 and Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) which gained 4.08% to close at 286.65.
The worst performers were Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE:HBI) which was down 4.95% to 16.33 in late trade, Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) which lost 4.89% to settle at 32.86 and WW Grainger Inc (NYSE:GWW) which was down 3.03% to 258.60 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Vislink Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:VISL) which rose 146.99% to 4.1000, SeaChange International Inc (NASDAQ:SEAC) which was up 32.12% to settle at 1.81 and FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) which gained 29.35% to close at 0.800.
The worst performers were MMTEC Inc (NASDAQ:MTC) which was down 28.67% to 10.70 in late trade, Top Ships Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS) which lost 20.85% to settle at 0.5174 and GreenPro Capital Corp (NASDAQ:GRNQ) which was down 19.44% to 0.870000 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1862 to 1158 and 19 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1388 rose and 1264 declined, while 100 ended unchanged.
Shares in WW Grainger Inc (NYSE:GWW) fell to 52-week lows; down 3.03% or 8.09 to 258.60. Shares in GreenPro Capital Corp (NASDAQ:GRNQ) fell to all time lows; falling 19.44% or 0.210000 to 0.870000.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.52% to 13.03.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 1.47% or 20.55 to $1421.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 4.22% or 2.44 to hit $60.27 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.11% or 0.07 to trade at $66.68 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.05% to 1.1255, while USD/JPY fell 0.04% to 108.42.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.39% at 96.718.