Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Industrials and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.92% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.84%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.06%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which rose 2.17% or 1.04 points to trade at 49.05 at the close. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) added 1.88% or 4.23 points to end at 228.82 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 1.84% or 4.51 points to 249.72 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 0.39% or 0.36 points to trade at 91.18 at the close. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) declined 0.39% or 0.27 points to end at 68.82 and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) was down 0.15% or 0.06 points to 40.61.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) which rose 6.61% to 56.44, Fox Corp Class A (NASDAQ:FOXA) which was up 4.35% to settle at 39.1100 and Capri Holdings Ltd (NYSE:CPRI) which gained 4.07% to close at 37.31.
The worst performers were Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) which was down 7.83% to 46.72 in late trade, PPG Industries Inc (NYSE:PPG) which lost 2.55% to settle at 127.41 and Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) which was down 2.37% to 286.14 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Aethlon Medical Inc (NASDAQ:AEMD) which rose 57.71% to 2.760, TRACON Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:TCON) which was up 46.76% to settle at 4.3000 and Internap Corp (NASDAQ:INAP) which gained 40.86% to close at 1.310.
The worst performers were Heat Biologics Inc (NASDAQ:HTBX) which was down 24.36% to 0.333 in late trade, Opera Ltd (NASDAQ:OPRA) which lost 18.74% to settle at 7.33 and KemPharm Inc (NASDAQ:KMPH) which was down 16.67% to 0.40 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2014 to 769 and 115 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1938 rose and 705 declined, while 62 ended unchanged.
Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 6.61% or 3.50 to 56.44. Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 1.84% or 4.51 to 249.72. Shares in Heat Biologics Inc (NASDAQ:HTBX) fell to all time lows; down 24.36% or 0.107 to 0.333.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.81% to 12.32.
Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.09% or 1.45 to $1552.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 1.35% or 0.78 to hit $58.59 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to trade at $64.68 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.01% to 1.1136, while USD/JPY rose 0.02% to 110.17.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.10% at 97.060.