Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Financials, Industrials and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.80%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.79%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.92%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V), which rose 3.64% or 7.33 points to trade at 208.69 at the close. Meanwhile, The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) added 3.56% or 4.94 points to end at 143.60 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 3.11% or 3.74 points to 124.18 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 2.59% or 8.74 points to trade at 329.15 at the close. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 1.68% or 1.30 points to end at 76.02 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.72% or 1.74 points to 241.26.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) which rose 12.47% to 614.29, Alliance Data Systems Corp (NYSE:ADS) which was up 9.21% to settle at 82.09 and L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) which gained 9.12% to close at 47.97.
The worst performers were Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) which was down 8.95% to 147.77 in late trade, International Paper (NYSE:IP) which lost 7.67% to settle at 46.74 and Air Products and Chemicals Inc (NYSE:APD) which was down 7.44% to 256.02 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were ATA Inc (NASDAQ:AACG) which rose 754.41% to 11.620, Lizhi Inc (NASDAQ:LIZI) which was up 74.12% to settle at 14.80 and Cns Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNSP) which gained 69.71% to close at 3.53.
The worst performers were Tyme Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:TYME) which was down 35.13% to 2.290 in late trade, Koss Corporation (NASDAQ:KOSS) which lost 26.92% to settle at 18.700 and Cassava Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:SAVA) which was down 23.56% to 67.22 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2163 to 944 and 68 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2270 rose and 828 declined, while 60 ended unchanged.
Shares in Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) rose to all time highs; rising 12.47% or 68.11 to 614.29. Shares in L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) rose to 52-week highs; rising 9.12% or 4.01 to 47.97. Shares in ATA Inc (NASDAQ:AACG) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 754.41% or 10.260 to 11.620. Shares in Lizhi Inc (NASDAQ:LIZI) rose to all time highs; gaining 74.12% or 6.30 to 14.80.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.32% to 21.92.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 2.20% or 40.45 to $1794.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 1.10% or 0.61 to hit $56.30 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.29% or 0.17 to trade at $58.86 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.58% to 1.1965, while USD/JPY rose 0.51% to 105.55.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.47% at 91.532.