Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Telecoms, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.29%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.46%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.52%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which rose 1.42% or 1.12 points to trade at 79.91 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.38% or 0.77 points to end at 56.57 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 1.34% or 0.85 points to 64.28 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which fell 1.63% or 0.53 points to trade at 32.06 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 0.79% or 0.63 points to end at 79.38 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 0.77% or 0.77 points to 98.66.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which rose 9.54% to 14.47, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which was up 8.45% to settle at 5.390 and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) which gained 5.84% to close at 442.48.
The worst performers were Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) which was down 8.62% to 64.81 in late trade, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) which lost 6.75% to settle at 37.42 and Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG) which was down 6.18% to 11.38 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Technical Communications (NASDAQ:TCCO) which rose 78.20% to 5.150, Xtera Communications Inc (NASDAQ:XCOM) which was up 58.55% to settle at 1.110 and Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution (NASDAQ:KONE) which gained 39.73% to close at 10.200.
The worst performers were Qumu Corp (NASDAQ:QUMU) which was down 26.09% to 3.400 in late trade, Tetralogic Phrm (NASDAQ:TLOG) which lost 22.47% to settle at 0.2450 and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc (NASDAQ:EGLE) which was down 17.40% to 0.430 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2125 to 1129 and 37 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1655 rose and 896 declined, while 82 ended unchanged.
Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose to 5-year highs; rising 1.38% or 0.77 to 56.57. Shares in Technical Communications (NASDAQ:TCCO) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 78.20% or 2.260 to 5.150. Shares in Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution (NASDAQ:KONE) rose to 52-week highs; rising 39.73% or 2.900 to 10.200.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.89% to 11.99.
Gold for August delivery was down 0.60% or 8.00 to $1323.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 1.16% or 0.52 to hit $44.23 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 1.02% or 0.47 to trade at $45.73 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.47% to 1.0974, while USD/JPY rose 0.22% to 106.09.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.52% at 97.44.