Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Oil & Gas and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.99%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.04%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.64%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which rose 4.84% or 5.87 points to trade at 127.08 at the close. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) added 4.70% or 8.33 points to end at 185.72 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was up 3.25% or 1.67 points to 53.05 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which fell 1.30% or 1.31 points to trade at 99.84 at the close. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) declined 0.88% or 1.75 points to end at 197.09 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was down 0.68% or 0.34 points to 49.76.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) which rose 24.44% to 422.50, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) which was up 14.50% to settle at 121.42 and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) which gained 13.70% to close at 11.040.
The worst performers were LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) which was down 19.07% to 30.42 in late trade, MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) which lost 8.60% to settle at 32.29 and Varian Medical Systems Inc (NYSE:VAR) which was down 7.45% to 116.48 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Genprex Inc (NASDAQ:GNPX) which rose 86.76% to 11.0000, Rosetta Genomics Ltd (NASDAQ:ROSG) which was up 30.91% to settle at 0.4320 and vTv Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VTVT) which gained 28.21% to close at 2.00.
The worst performers were Check Cap Ltd (NASDAQ:CHEK) which was down 38.15% to 7.960 in late trade, Cocrystal Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:COCP) which lost 25.09% to settle at 2.0900 and Essendant Inc (NASDAQ:ESND) which was down 23.75% to 7.32 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2042 to 1040 and 117 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1518 rose and 1015 declined, while 146 ended unchanged.
Shares in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.84% or 5.87 to 127.08. Shares in Genprex Inc (NASDAQ:GNPX) rose to all time highs; up 86.76% or 5.1100 to 11.0000. Shares in Essendant Inc (NASDAQ:ESND) fell to 5-year lows; falling 23.75% or 2.28 to 7.32.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 8.46% to 16.33.
Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.32% or 4.20 to $1318.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 0.18% or 0.12 to hit $68.17 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.97% or 0.72 to trade at $74.72 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.47% to 1.2104, while USD/JPY fell 0.07% to 109.35.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.40% at 91.39.