Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Telecoms, Technology and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.85% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.72%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.06%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 3.64% or 13.45 points to trade at 382.94 at the close. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 3.18% or 6.89 points to end at 223.59 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was up 2.15% or 2.80 points to 133.09 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which fell 1.00% or 1.45 points to trade at 143.60 at the close. Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) declined 0.78% or 1.37 points to end at 174.98 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was down 0.47% or 0.57 points to 121.28.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were CenturyLink Inc (NYSE:CTL) which rose 5.63% to 13.31, Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which was up 4.93% to settle at 289.66 and Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which gained 4.73% to close at 19.25.
The worst performers were Baker Hughes A Ge Company LLC (NYSE:BHGE) which was down 7.55% to 22.29 in late trade, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) which lost 4.50% to settle at 122.62 and VeriSign Inc (NASDAQ:VRSN) which was down 3.03% to 190.75 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were T2 Biosystms Inc (NASDAQ:TTOO) which rose 82.52% to 2.61, Francescas Holdings (NASDAQ:FRAN) which was up 59.42% to settle at 16.58 and MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd (NASDAQ:MTSL) which gained 33.18% to close at 1.2250.
The worst performers were Top Ships Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS) which was down 47.83% to 4.3300 in late trade, Aridis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARDS) which lost 22.38% to settle at 8.15 and Sundance Energy Australia Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:SNDE) which was down 22.09% to 1.34 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2101 to 847 and 97 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2001 rose and 664 declined, while 70 ended unchanged.
Shares in Top Ships Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS) fell to 3-years lows; falling 47.83% or 3.9700 to 4.3300.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.88% to 14.61 a new 1-month low.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.40% or 5.95 to $1505.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 2.53% or 1.45 to hit $55.95 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 0.10% or 0.06 to trade at $61.02 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.00% to 1.1010, while USD/JPY rose 0.00% to 107.81.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.31% at 98.612.