Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.23%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.43%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.74%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which rose 4.10% or 3.21 points to trade at 81.55 at the close. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) added 3.89% or 1.24 points to end at 33.08 and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was up 2.46% or 1.82 points to 75.88 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 0.28% or 0.12 points to trade at 42.84 at the close. JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) declined 0.28% or 0.17 points to end at 60.81 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 0.04% or 0.01 points to 25.74.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) which rose 22.73% to 63.47, Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) which was up 9.56% to settle at 25.91 and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which gained 9.43% to close at 7.89.
The worst performers were CME Group Inc (NASDAQ:CME) which was down 3.42% to 90.57 in late trade, The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) which lost 3.33% to settle at 27.60 and Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O) which was down 2.85% to 46.00 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Medical Tra (NASDAQ:MTBC) which rose 60.65% to 1.99, Lincoln Educational Services (NASDAQ:LINC) which was up 51.89% to settle at 0.81 and Spherix Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPEX) which gained 54.10% to close at 0.470.
The worst performers were Amicus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FOLD) which was down 53.53% to 6.39 in late trade, Tantech Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:TANH) which lost 17.81% to settle at 10.38 and Horsehead Holding Corp (NASDAQ:ZINC) which was down 17.79% to 2.45 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2028 to 504 and 1 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1723 rose and 809 declined, while 45 ended unchanged.
Shares in Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) fell to 52-week lows; losing 0.28% or 0.12 to 42.84. Shares in Horsehead Holding Corp (NASDAQ:ZINC) fell to 5-year lows; losing 17.79% or 0.53 to 2.45.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.36% to 20.89.
Gold for December delivery was up 2.14% or 23.80 to $1137.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.98% or 0.89 to hit $45.62 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.09% or 0.52 to trade at $48.21 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.18% to 1.1216, while USD/JPY rose 0.04% to 119.97.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.31% at 96.04.