Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Technology and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.74%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.02%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.18%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 1.94% or 3.84 points to trade at 202.15 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.81% or 5.91 points to end at 333.20 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.53% or 2.65 points to 175.64 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.71% or 1.19 points to trade at 165.44 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 0.53% or 0.83 points to end at 154.69 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was down 0.16% or 0.28 points to 172.64.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) which rose 7.49% to 1008.87, Paychex Inc (NASDAQ:PAYX) which was up 5.52% to settle at 133.41 and CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which gained 4.58% to close at 71.73.
The worst performers were CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) which was down 6.66% to 127.87 in late trade, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which lost 6.26% to settle at 251.36 and Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) which was down 1.81% to 428.89 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:BVXV) which rose 97.30% to 2.920, Society Pass Inc (NASDAQ:SOPA) which was up 53.43% to settle at 16.31 and Acasti Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ACST) which gained 52.25% to close at 1.6900.
The worst performers were Allakos Inc (NASDAQ:ALLK) which was down 89.87% to 8.55 in late trade, AgileThought Inc (NASDAQ:AGIL) which lost 30.40% to settle at 6.410 and CalAmp Corp (NASDAQ:CAMP) which was down 25.78% to 7.34 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2382 to 861 and 138 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2294 rose and 1524 declined, while 220 ended unchanged.
Shares in Paychex Inc (NASDAQ:PAYX) rose to all time highs; gaining 5.52% or 6.98 to 133.41. Shares in CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) rose to all time highs; up 4.58% or 3.14 to 71.73. Shares in Allakos Inc (NASDAQ:ALLK) fell to all time lows; falling 89.87% or 75.84 to 8.55. Shares in AgileThought Inc (NASDAQ:AGIL) fell to all time lows; down 30.40% or 2.800 to 6.410. Shares in CalAmp Corp (NASDAQ:CAMP) fell to 52-week lows; falling 25.78% or 2.55 to 7.34.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 11.33% to 18.63.
Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.89% or 15.95 to $1804.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 2.64% or 1.88 to hit $73.00 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 0.03% or 0.02 to trade at $75.58 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.00% to 1.1324, while USD/JPY fell 0.01% to 114.10.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.42% at 96.085.