Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.67% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.76%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.71%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP), which rose 2.96% or 1.64 points to trade at 57.04 at the close. Meanwhile, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) added 2.19% or 2.88 points to end at 134.54 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 2.00% or 7.03 points to 359.09 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 1.23% or 2.17 points to trade at 174.87 at the close. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) declined 0.65% or 1.69 points to end at 259.77 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was down 0.44% or 0.25 points to 56.83.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) which rose 5.95% to 57.34, M&T Bank Corp (NYSE:MTB) which was up 5.69% to settle at 163.21 and KKR & Co LP (F:KR51) which gained 4.74% to close at 19.23.
The worst performers were Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) which was down 24.67% to 25.13 in late trade, Pacific Gas & Electric Co (NYSE:PCG) which lost 9.53% to settle at 6.36 and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) which was down 4.41% to 42.53 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were LM Funding America Inc (NASDAQ:LMFA) which rose 49.30% to 2.12, China Advanced Construction Materials Group Inc (NASDAQ:CADC) which was up 31.52% to settle at 4.340 and Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) which gained 29.49% to close at 3.030.
The worst performers were Organogenesis Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ORGO) which was down 57.69% to 55.000 in late trade, Medalist Diversified Reit Inc (NASDAQ:MDRR) which lost 19.44% to settle at 7.46 and Golden Bull Ltd (NASDAQ:DNJR) which was down 15.11% to 7.64 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2105 to 927 and 104 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1593 rose and 1034 declined, while 90 ended unchanged.
Shares in Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) fell to 5-year lows; falling 24.67% or 8.23 to 25.13. Shares in Pacific Gas & Electric Co (NYSE:PCG) fell to all time lows; down 9.53% or 0.67 to 6.36.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.15% to 18.06 a new 1-month low.
Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.18% or 2.35 to $1291.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.11% or 0.06 to hit $52.25 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 0.15% or 0.09 to trade at $61.23 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.06% to 1.1390, while USD/JPY rose 0.11% to 109.20.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.03% at 95.708.