Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Financials, Technology and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.48%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.53%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.78%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 4.14% or 4.53 points to trade at 113.85 at the close. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) added 3.04% or 1.70 points to end at 57.59 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 3.01% or 3.16 points to 108.17 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which fell 3.76% or 3.30 points to trade at 84.37 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) declined 0.93% or 0.45 points to end at 47.80 and AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) was down 0.62% or 0.21 points to 33.79.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Avon Products Inc (NYSE:AVP) which rose 14.55% to 8.66, Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) which was up 8.41% to settle at 45.35 and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) which gained 7.42% to close at 13.24.
The worst performers were F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) which was down 9.96% to 113.40 in late trade, Xilinx Inc (NASDAQ:XLNX) which lost 6.14% to settle at 38.96 and Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) which was down 5.79% to 57.32 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Life Partners Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LPHI) which rose 36.00% to 0.340, BSD Medical Corporation (NASDAQ:BSDM) which was up 29.27% to settle at 0.260 and Egalet Corportn (NASDAQ:EGLT) which gained 21.70% to close at 6.00.
The worst performers were Cache Inc (NASDAQ:CACH) which was down 48.55% to 0.10 in late trade, Axion Power International Inc (NASDAQ:AXPW) which lost 21.88% to settle at 0.40 and Genetic Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:GENE) which was down 18.40% to 1.330 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2325 to 472; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2034 rose and 751 declined, while 2 ended unchanged.
Shares in Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) rose to all time highs; gaining 8.41% or 3.52 to 45.35. Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; rising 4.14% or 4.53 to 113.85. Shares in The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) rose to all time highs; up 3.01% or 3.16 to 108.17. Shares in Axion Power International Inc (NASDAQ:AXPW) fell to all time lows; losing 21.88% or 0.11 to 0.40.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 12.73% to 16.45.
Gold for February delivery was up 0.63% or 8.10 to $1301.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude Oil for delivery in March fell 2.61% or 1.25 to hit $46.53 a barrel, while the March Brent Oil contract fell 0.30% or 0.14 to trade at $48.88 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 2.35% to 1.1337, while USD/JPY rose 0.54% to 118.60.
The US Dollar Index was up 1.75% at 94.64.