U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.98%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.98%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.41%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.67%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 3.53% or 5.78 points to trade at 169.38 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 3.04% or 1.03 points to end at 34.89 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was up 2.80% or 1.52 points to 55.76 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM), which fell 3.39% or 6.10 points to trade at 173.91 at the close. Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declined 0.08% or 0.12 points to end at 145.70 and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) was up 0.08% or 0.03 points to 36.80.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) which rose 7.88% to 78.56, DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) which was up 6.11% to settle at 18.57 and Freeport-McMoran Copper&Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which gained 6.10% to close at 33.23.

The worst performers were Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) which was down 10.23% to 149.00 in late trade, Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) which lost 3.39% to settle at 173.91 and Molson Coors Brewing Co Class B (NYSE:TAP) which was down 1.68% to 55.67 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KPRX) which rose 94.63% to 0.26, Bright Minds Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:DRUG) which was up 45.96% to settle at 2.89 and Vivakor Inc (NASDAQ:VIVK) which gained 42.29% to close at 2.49.

The worst performers were Magic Empire Global Ltd (NASDAQ:MEGL) which was down 29.06% to 7.52 in late trade, Starbox Group Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:STBX) which lost 27.87% to settle at 7.09 and GeoVax Labs Inc (NASDAQ:GOVX) which was down 22.49% to 1.31 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2440 to 675 and 145 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2535 rose and 1243 declined, while 232 ended unchanged.

Shares in Magic Empire Global Ltd (NASDAQ:MEGL) fell to all time lows; falling 29.06% or 3.08 to 7.52. Shares in Starbox Group Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:STBX) fell to all time lows; falling 27.87% or 2.74 to 7.09.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.56% to 21.78.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.52% or 9.20 to $1,770.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 2.29% or 2.17 to hit $92.72 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 1.68% or 1.70 to trade at $99.52 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.12% to 1.00, while USD/JPY fell 0.44% to 136.51.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.22% at 108.37.