U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.44%

© Reuters. U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.44%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Technology, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.44%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.50%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 2.10%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 3.30% or 10.19 points to trade at 318.85 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 3.29% or 5.74 points to end at 180.12 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was up 2.88% or 3.74 points to 133.51 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), which fell 1.25% or 0.76 points to trade at 59.97 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 0.77% or 1.03 points to end at 132.58 and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was down 0.26% or 0.56 points to 214.62.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) which rose 11.93% to 90.43, Textron Inc (NYSE:TXT) which was up 9.96% to settle at 50.90 and Ralph Lauren Corp Class A (NYSE:RL) which gained 9.20% to close at 123.68.

The worst performers were Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE) which was down 7.45% to 92.59 in late trade, Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT) which lost 6.01% to settle at 154.00 and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) which was down 4.55% to 56.49 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Puma Biotechnology Inc (NASDAQ:PBYI) which rose 31.59% to 10.58, Digital Ally Inc (NASDAQ:DGLY) which was up 28.12% to settle at 1.230 and Allot Communications Ltd (NASDAQ:ALLT) which gained 26.78% to close at 12.31.

The worst performers were Vaxart Inc (NASDAQ:VXRT) which was down 26.25% to 1.1800 in late trade, EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) which lost 25.45% to settle at 5.01 and Artelo Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ARTL) which was down 21.15% to 2.200 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2029 to 783 and 385 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1841 rose and 813 declined, while 252 ended unchanged.

Shares in Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) fell to 5-year lows; down 1.25% or 0.76 to 59.97. Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose to all time highs; up 3.29% or 5.74 to 180.12. Shares in Allot Communications Ltd (NASDAQ:ALLT) rose to 5-year highs; up 26.78% or 2.60 to 12.31.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 10.68% to 16.05.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 1.68% or 26.60 to $1556.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 0.92% or 0.46 to hit $49.45 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 0.09% or 0.05 to trade at $53.81 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.01% to 1.1043, while USD/JPY fell 0.02% to 109.48.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15% at 97.803.