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 added 0.17% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.29%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.30%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V), which rose 1.71% or 3.00 points to trade at 177.98 at the close. Meanwhile, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) added 1.49% or 2.50 points to end at 170.58 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 1.42% or 2.07 points to 148.30 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), which fell 4.31% or 2.50 points to trade at 55.56 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 1.91% or 7.31 points to end at 375.63 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 1.75% or 4.11 points to 230.10.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) which rose 11.93% to 32.55, Varian Medical Systems Inc (NYSE:VAR) which was up 3.79% to settle at 119.55 and IHS Markit Ltd (NYSE:INFO) which gained 3.02% to close at 67.57.
The worst performers were DXC Technology Co (NYSE:DXC) which was down 10.99% to 32.48 in late trade, Helmerich and Payne Inc (NYSE:HP) which lost 4.43% to settle at 40.76 and Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) which was down 4.34% to 99.34 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Ruhnn Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:RUHN) which rose 47.37% to 7.00, SINTX Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SINT) which was up 41.33% to settle at 2.120 and Pensare Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:WRLS) which gained 28.18% to close at 10.33.
The worst performers were Tocagen Inc (NASDAQ:TOCA) which was down 77.74% to 0.93 in late trade, Adverum Biotechnologies Inc (NASDAQ:ADVM) which lost 50.33% to settle at 5.96 and China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:CNTF) which was down 39.57% to 0.2901 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1493 to 1466 and 85 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1371 rose and 1289 declined, while 90 ended unchanged.
Shares in Tocagen Inc (NASDAQ:TOCA) fell to all time lows; down 77.74% or 3.25 to 0.93. Shares in China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:CNTF) fell to all time lows; falling 39.57% or 0.1899 to 0.2901.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.67% to 14.22 a new 1-month low.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.25% or 3.70 to $1506.90 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 1.20% or 0.67 to hit $55.08 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to trade at $60.41 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.06% to 1.1067, while USD/JPY fell 0.01% to 108.08.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.28% at 98.352.