Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Utilities and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.05%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.06%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.47%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which rose 5.01% or 2.11 points to trade at 44.20 at the close. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 3.29% or 5.50 points to end at 172.87 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 2.99% or 10.32 points to 355.17 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 1.69% or 3.88 points to trade at 224.91 at the close. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) declined 0.47% or 0.07 points to end at 14.83 and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was down 0.42% or 0.32 points to 76.14.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) which rose 9.17% to 52.96, CenturyLink Inc (NYSE:CTL) which was up 8.19% to settle at 19.02 and Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) which gained 5.76% to close at 78.75.
The worst performers were NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) which was down 7.42% to 56.14 in late trade, Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX) which lost 6.41% to settle at 407.91 and Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE:OMC) which was down 6.37% to 77.51 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Moleculin Biotech Inc (NASDAQ:MBRX) which rose 59.29% to 2.90, AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AMAG) which was up 28.78% to settle at 17.90 and Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd (NASDAQ:GLMD) which gained 24.77% to close at 6.800.
The worst performers were Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CDMO) which was down 26.92% to 2.3750 in late trade, DelMar Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:DMPI) which lost 18.66% to settle at 1.106 and FlexShopper Inc (NASDAQ:FPAY) which was down 18.44% to 2.985 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2124 to 1030 and 22 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1686 rose and 843 declined, while 89 ended unchanged.
Shares in Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose to 5-year highs; rising 5.01% or 2.11 to 44.20. Shares in Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CDMO) fell to 52-week lows; losing 26.92% or 0.8750 to 2.3750. Shares in FlexShopper Inc (NASDAQ:FPAY) fell to 3-years lows; down 18.44% or 0.675 to 2.985.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.52% to 19.36.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.07% or 1.00 to $1357.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 1.58% or 0.96 to hit $61.56 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.23% or 0.15 to trade at $64.51 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.45% to 1.2506, while USD/JPY fell 0.80% to 106.14.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.47% at 88.49.