Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Financials and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.11%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.22%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.15%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which rose 3.09% or 4.98 points to trade at 166.18 at the close. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) added 2.06% or 3.25 points to end at 160.92 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 1.21% or 1.94 points to 162.58 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), which fell 1.24% or 2.79 points to trade at 221.59 at the close. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) declined 0.87% or 3.67 points to end at 419.74 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 0.84% or 1.26 points to 148.36.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) which rose 7.80% to 65.50, Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) which was up 4.29% to settle at 389.90 and NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) which gained 3.75% to close at 45.60.
The worst performers were Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) which was down 17.64% to 31.14 in late trade, Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which lost 5.31% to settle at 27.48 and Nucor Corp (NYSE:NUE) which was down 2.67% to 119.96 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Regencell Bioscience Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:RGC) which rose 202.81% to 46.33, Locust Walk Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:LWAC) which was up 93.84% to settle at 16.980 and Aditx Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ADTX) which gained 53.54% to close at 3.040.
The worst performers were Cassava Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:SAVA) which was down 31.38% to 80.86 in late trade, 111 Inc (NASDAQ:YI) which lost 18.08% to settle at 6.570 and Rxsight Inc (NASDAQ:RXST) which was down 13.53% to 12.53 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1896 to 1272 and 176 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2004 rose and 1539 declined, while 169 ended unchanged.
Shares in Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) rose to all time highs; up 4.29% or 16.05 to 389.90. Shares in NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) rose to 5-year highs; rising 3.75% or 1.65 to 45.60. Shares in The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.21% or 1.94 to 162.58. Shares in Regencell Bioscience Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:RGC) rose to all time highs; up 202.81% or 31.03 to 46.33. Shares in Locust Walk Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:LWAC) rose to all time highs; up 93.84% or 8.220 to 16.980.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.50% to 16.79.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.89% or 16.05 to $1792.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 0.86% or 0.58 to hit $68.12 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.92% or 0.65 to trade at $71.06 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.17% to 1.1773, while USD/JPY rose 0.35% to 110.00.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 92.843.