Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Consumer Services and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.91% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.74%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.88%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 3.93% or 9.84 points to trade at 259.98 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 3.18% or 5.07 points to end at 164.61 and Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON) was up 2.79% or 4.66 points to 171.55 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which rose 0.18% or 0.26 points to trade at 140.89 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 0.25% or 0.15 points to end at 59.61 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 0.51% or 0.41 points to 80.04.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) which rose 9.54% to 3.33, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) which was up 7.97% to settle at 125.33 and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which gained 7.38% to close at 16.88.
The worst performers were Cboe Global Markets Inc (NYSE:CBOE) which was down 2.25% to 84.89 in late trade, NiSource Inc (NYSE:NI) which lost 1.61% to settle at 22.05 and Kimco Realty Corporation (NYSE:KIM) which was down 1.59% to 11.76 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Rave Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:RAVE) which rose 127.63% to 1.170, CVD Equipment Corporation (NASDAQ:CVV) which was up 92.62% to settle at 5.74 and American Resources Corp Class A (NASDAQ:AREC) which gained 59.51% to close at 2.6000.
The worst performers were Electro-Sensors Inc (NASDAQ:ELSE) which was down 39.06% to 5.18 in late trade, Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corp Ltd (NASDAQ:APWC) which lost 31.94% to settle at 1.790 and Diginex Ltd (NASDAQ:EQOS) which was down 23.14% to 5.38 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2282 to 799 and 93 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2270 rose and 642 declined, while 61 ended unchanged.
Shares in Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 7.97% or 9.25 to 125.33. Shares in CVD Equipment Corporation (NASDAQ:CVV) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 92.62% or 2.76 to 5.74. Shares in American Resources Corp Class A (NASDAQ:AREC) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 59.51% or 0.9700 to 2.6000. Shares in Diginex Ltd (NASDAQ:EQOS) fell to all time lows; losing 23.14% or 1.62 to 5.38.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.82% to 28.06.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.96% or 18.25 to $1890.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 1.57% or 0.64 to hit $40.03 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to trade at $42.16 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.04% to 1.1764, while USD/JPY unchanged 0.00% to 105.96.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.08% at 93.670.