Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Technology, Consumer Services and Utilities sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.68%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.78%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.44%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which rose 2.67% or 3.03 points to trade at 116.66 at the close. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 2.33% or 8.68 points to end at 381.37 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 2.20% or 4.58 points to 212.83 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW), which fell 3.21% or 1.34 points to trade at 40.35 at the close. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 1.98% or 2.51 points to end at 124.44 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 1.02% or 0.80 points to 77.92.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Kohls Corp (NYSE:KSS) which rose 9.46% to 22.22, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) which was up 7.34% to settle at 35.41 and Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) which gained 6.08% to close at 146.35.
The worst performers were Mosaic Co (NYSE:MOS) which was down 5.91% to 12.11 in late trade, CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which lost 5.07% to settle at 27.74 and Mohawk Industries Inc (NYSE:MHK) which was down 4.78% to 91.39 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were National General Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:NGHC) which rose 65.80% to 33.84, Altimmune Inc (NASDAQ:ALT) which was up 52.19% to settle at 17.030 and Senmiao Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:AIHS) which gained 49.84% to close at 1.2500.
The worst performers were Ascena Retail Group Inc (NASDAQ:ASNA) which was down 20.16% to 1.03 in late trade, Centogene B V (NASDAQ:CNTG) which lost 18.66% to settle at 19.18 and Vivus Inc (NASDAQ:VVUS) which was down 15.79% to 0.680 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1691 to 1151 and 94 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1510 rose and 1169 declined, while 71 ended unchanged.
Shares in Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) rose to all time highs; rising 6.08% or 8.39 to 146.35. Shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose to all time highs; gaining 2.33% or 8.68 to 381.37. Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose to all time highs; rising 2.20% or 4.58 to 212.83. Shares in National General Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:NGHC) rose to all time highs; up 65.80% or 13.43 to 33.84. Shares in Altimmune Inc (NASDAQ:ALT) rose to 52-week highs; up 52.19% or 5.840 to 17.030. Shares in Vivus Inc (NASDAQ:VVUS) fell to all time lows; down 15.79% or 0.128 to 0.680.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.59% to 28.08.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.45% or 8.10 to $1818.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.62% or 0.25 to hit $40.87 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.14% or 0.06 to trade at $43.36 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.02% to 1.1331, while USD/JPY rose 0.04% to 107.30.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.43% at 96.425.