U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.43%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Oil&Gas, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.26%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.19%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 6.43% or 17.23 points to trade at 285.20 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 5.71% or 20.70 points to end at 383.43 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was up 3.71% or 1.94 points to 54.27 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 2.64% or 14.50 points to trade at 534.51 at the close. Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declined 2.63% or 3.91 points to end at 144.67 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 2.25% or 8.44 points to 365.93.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) which rose 16.60% to 96.32, Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which was up 11.72% to settle at 120.22 and Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA) which gained 11.34% to close at 272.16.

The worst performers were Ameren Corp (NYSE:AEE) which was down 7.77% to 75.00 in late trade, Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC) which lost 7.56% to settle at 37.90 and Arthur J Gallagher&Co (NYSE:AJG) which was down 7.42% to 227.01 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Freight Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:FRGT) which rose 122.03% to 0.60, Aileron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALRN) which was up 115.66% to settle at 5.37 and TPI Composites Inc (NASDAQ:TPIC) which gained 73.36% to close at 3.71.

The worst performers were Reneo Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RPHM) which was down 82.71% to 1.34 in late trade, Amtech Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ASYS) which lost 31.55% to settle at 4.10 and Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRPX) which was down 35.43% to 0.24 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2302 to 641 and 39 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2395 rose and 1073 declined, while 100 ended unchanged.

Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 5.71% or 20.70 to 383.43. Shares in Reneo Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RPHM) fell to all time lows; falling 82.71% or 6.41 to 1.34. Shares in Aileron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALRN) rose to 52-week highs; up 115.66% or 2.88 to 5.37. Shares in Amtech Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ASYS) fell to 3-years lows; falling 31.55% or 1.89 to 4.10. Shares in Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRPX) fell to all time lows; losing 35.43% or 0.13 to 0.24.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.38% to 12.48.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 2.68% or 53.55 to $2,050.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 3.09% or 2.15 to hit $71.62 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 3.19% or 2.37 to trade at $76.63 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 1.08% to 1.10, while USD/JPY fell 0.71% to 141.86.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.88% at 101.58.