U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.47%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Basic Materials and Telecoms sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.47% to hit a new 3-months high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.16%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.07%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which rose 3.14% or 2.86 points to trade at 93.93 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 3.04% or 1.20 points to end at 40.61 and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) was up 2.18% or 0.46 points to 21.55 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 0.80% or 0.82 points to trade at 101.35 at the close. Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) declined 0.80% or 1.76 points to end at 219.42 and Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 0.46% or 0.70 points to 151.42.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) which rose 17.75% to 130.46, VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) which was up 14.13% to settle at 17.77 and Catalent Inc (NYSE:CTLT) which gained 11.34% to close at 39.56.

The worst performers were Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which was down 5.57% to 349.34 in late trade, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) which lost 3.65% to settle at 588.54 and Constellation Energy Corp (NASDAQ:CEG) which was down 3.58% to 121.99 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Mira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MIRA) which rose 72.51% to 2.95, CISO Global Inc (NASDAQ:CISO) which was up 67.36% to settle at 0.16 and Heron Therapeuti (NASDAQ:HRTX) which gained 59.26% to close at 0.86.

The worst performers were Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I (NASDAQ:JGGC) which was down 76.02% to 1.70 in late trade, Chanson International Holding (NASDAQ:CHSN) which lost 34.98% to settle at 1.45 and Hanryu Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HRYU) which was down 28.74% to 0.67 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1609 to 1293 and 70 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1982 rose and 1467 declined, while 131 ended unchanged.

Shares in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) rose to 52-week highs; up 3.04% or 1.20 to 40.61. Shares in Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I (NASDAQ:JGGC) fell to all time lows; losing 76.02% or 5.39 to 1.70. Shares in Hanryu Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HRYU) fell to all time lows; losing 28.74% or 0.27 to 0.67.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.14% to 14.18.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.16% or 3.15 to $1,963.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 2.10% or 1.64 to hit $76.62 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.81% or 1.49 to trade at $80.98 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.30% to 1.08, while USD/JPY rose 0.67% to 151.38.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.36% at 104.28.