Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.91%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.80%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.81%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which rose 1.91% or 1.35 points to trade at 72.08 at the close. Meanwhile, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) added 1.63% or 1.65 points to end at 102.92 and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) was up 1.62% or 0.54 points to 33.86 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 0.29% or 0.15 points to trade at 51.97 at the close. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) added 0.29% or 0.09 points to end at 29.61 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 0.35% or 0.20 points to 57.60.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which rose 4.89% to 13.85, EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) which was up 4.44% to settle at 72.64 and Rockwell Automation Inc (NYSE:ROK) which gained 4.22% to close at 122.06.
The worst performers were Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) which was down 13.25% to 47.71 in late trade, Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which lost 3.73% to settle at 20.15 and Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) which was down 3.15% to 97.42 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Erickson Air-Crane Inc (NASDAQ:EAC) which rose 81.49% to 0.671, Nova Lifestyle I (NASDAQ:NVFY) which was up 45.20% to settle at 3.630 and Chinanet Online Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CNET) which gained 28.57% to close at 1.8000.
The worst performers were Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:THLD) which was down 42.58% to 0.6775 in late trade, Delcath Systems Inc (NASDAQ:DCTH) which lost 28.41% to settle at 2.4700 and CalAmp Corp (NASDAQ:CAMP) which was down 14.99% to 13.95 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2240 to 917 and 76 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1820 rose and 683 declined, while 101 ended unchanged.
Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) fell to 52-week lows; falling 13.25% or 7.29 to 47.71. Shares in Rockwell Automation Inc (NYSE:ROK) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 4.22% or 4.94 to 122.06. Shares in Nova Lifestyle I (NASDAQ:NVFY) rose to 52-week highs; rising 45.20% or 1.130 to 3.630. Shares in Delcath Systems Inc (NASDAQ:DCTH) fell to 5-year lows; losing 28.41% or 0.9800 to 2.4700.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.85% to 13.20.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.40% or 5.35 to $1320.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 0.33% or 0.16 to hit $47.99 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 0.34% or 0.17 to trade at $49.98 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.19% to 1.1240, while USD/JPY rose 0.34% to 101.37.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.04% at 95.39.