Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Financials, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.62%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.15%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.91%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which rose 7.41% or 5.78 points to trade at 83.81 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 4.54% or 12.61 points to end at 290.61 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 4.53% or 1.90 points to 43.85 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), which fell 0.55% or 0.24 points to trade at 43.70 at the close. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 0.23% or 0.29 points to end at 123.42 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 0.10% or 0.11 points to 113.81.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) which rose 14.66% to 228.71, Leggett & Platt Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) which was up 9.79% to settle at 27.03 and Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) which gained 9.62% to close at 59.16.
The worst performers were Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) which was down 8.20% to 3.36 in late trade, Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) which lost 3.80% to settle at 205.59 and Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) which was down 3.45% to 10.36 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Applied DNA Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:APDN) which rose 71.09% to 15.21, Glory Star New Media Group Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:GSMG) which was up 45.79% to settle at 3.56 and Allogene Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALLO) which gained 35.96% to close at 42.12.
The worst performers were CytomX Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CTMX) which was down 36.08% to 9.23 in late trade, Organovo Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ONVO) which lost 33.87% to settle at 0.5900 and Citius Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CTXR) which was down 25.23% to 0.830 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1596 to 1302 and 58 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1364 fell and 1294 advanced, while 61 ended unchanged.
Shares in Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) fell to all time lows; falling 8.20% or 0.30 to 3.36. Shares in Allogene Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALLO) rose to all time highs; gaining 35.96% or 11.14 to 42.12.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.57% to 32.61.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 1.28% or 22.00 to $1738.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 9.37% or 2.37 to hit $27.66 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 0.35% or 0.11 to trade at $31.50 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.01% to 1.0805, while USD/JPY rose 0.01% to 107.25.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.04% at 100.330.