Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Technology, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.82%, while the S&P 500 index added 1.83%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 2.46%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 4.29% or 4.62 points to trade at 112.34 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 3.68% or 1.54 points to end at 43.36 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 3.02% or 3.41 points to 116.48 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which fell 0.17% or 0.13 points to trade at 78.06 at the close. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) added 0.96% or 0.66 points to end at 69.62 and Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 0.39% or 0.15 points to 38.90.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were H&R Block Inc (NYSE:HRB) which rose 7.50% to 35.42, American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which was up 5.89% to settle at 41.51 and Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) which gained 5.07% to close at 45.99.
The worst performers were Ensco PLC (NYSE:ESV) which was down 4.13% to 16.24 in late trade, Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) which lost 3.11% to settle at 16.21 and Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) which was down 2.96% to 67.59 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Wave Systems Corp (NASDAQ:WAVX) which rose 91.85% to 0.240, Liquid Hlgs (NASDAQ:LIQD) which was up 59.09% to settle at 0.105 and Synergetics USA Inc (NASDAQ:SURG) which gained 49.89% to close at 6.58.
The worst performers were Sfx Enterta (NASDAQ:SFXE) which was down 33.66% to 0.67 in late trade, Great Basin Scientific Inc (NASDAQ:GBSN) which lost 30.00% to settle at 0.21 and Code Rebel Corp (NASDAQ:CDRB) which was down 28.04% to 8.65 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1865 to 675 and 2 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1797 rose and 787 declined, while 23 ended unchanged.
Shares in Sfx Enterta (NASDAQ:SFXE) fell to all time lows; losing 33.66% or 0.34 to 0.67. Shares in Great Basin Scientific Inc (NASDAQ:GBSN) fell to all time lows; down 30.00% or 0.09 to 0.21. Shares in Synergetics USA Inc (NASDAQ:SURG) rose to 3-years highs; rising 49.89% or 2.19 to 6.58.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 16.91% to 26.09.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.54% or 6.10 to $1133.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.96% or 0.89 to hit $46.30 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 2.20% or 1.09 to trade at $50.65 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.72% to 1.1235, while USD/JPY rose 0.72% to 120.22.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.50% at 95.87.