Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Telecoms, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.58%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.79%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.42%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which rose 9.33% or 8.42 points to trade at 98.64 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 4.28% or 14.21 points to end at 345.97 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was up 3.23% or 4.26 points to 136.28 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 0.61% or 0.29 points to trade at 47.17 at the close. Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) declined 0.31% or 0.35 points to end at 112.50 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.02% or 0.02 points to 107.64.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) which rose 9.33% to 98.64, Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) which was up 4.64% to settle at 19.41 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) which gained 4.28% to close at 345.97.
The worst performers were Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) which was down 4.40% to 502.76 in late trade, NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) which lost 3.59% to settle at 79.51 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which was down 3.30% to 4.255 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were JMU Ltd (NASDAQ:JMU) which rose 46.83% to 1.850, Sphere 3D Corp (NASDAQ:ANY) which was up 34.38% to settle at 0.311 and SAExploration Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SAEX) which gained 28.89% to close at 0.580.
The worst performers were Pain Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PTIE) which was down 47.45% to 1.030 in late trade, Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:HMNY) which lost 37.50% to settle at 0.030 and ParkerVision Inc (NASDAQ:PRKR) which was down 32.11% to 0.2600 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2270 to 816 and 29 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1766 rose and 784 declined, while 128 ended unchanged.
Shares in Pain Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PTIE) fell to all time lows; losing 47.45% or 0.930 to 1.030. Shares in Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:HMNY) fell to all time lows; falling 37.50% or 0.018 to 0.030. Shares in ParkerVision Inc (NASDAQ:PRKR) fell to all time lows; losing 32.11% or 0.1230 to 0.2600.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.58% to 13.53.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.34% or 4.00 to $1181.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 0.71% or 0.46 to hit $65.47 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 0.82% or 0.58 to trade at $71.34 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.26% to 1.1377, while USD/JPY rose 0.14% to 110.90.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.12% at 96.47.