U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 3.70%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.70% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 5.54%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 7.35%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 9.99% or 14.19 points to trade at 156.25 at the close. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 8.90% or 12.00 points to end at 146.87 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 8.70% or 24.95 points to 311.70 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which fell 0.69% or 1.91 points to trade at 275.88 at the close. Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 0.30% or 0.30 points to end at 101.89 and Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) was up 0.47% or 1.36 points to 291.01.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Invesco Plc (NYSE:IVZ) which rose 17.88% to 18.75, Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) which was up 17.83% to settle at 50.62 and T. Rowe Price Group Inc (NASDAQ:TROW) which gained 16.36% to close at 124.65.

The worst performers were McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) which was down 4.12% to 370.32 in late trade, Cardinal Health Inc (NYSE:CAH) which lost 2.79% to settle at 77.93 and Altria Group (NYSE:MO) which was down 2.19% to 44.22 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Fast Radius Inc (NASDAQ:FSRD) which rose 156.19% to 0.26, SHF Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SHFS) which was up 86.70% to settle at 3.79 and EpicQuest Education Group International Ltd (NASDAQ:EEIQ) which gained 73.79% to close at 1.79.

The worst performers were Apyx Medical Inc (NASDAQ:APYX) which was down 60.45% to 1.74 in late trade, Veru Inc (NASDAQ:VERU) which lost 53.56% to settle at 6.97 and AGBA Acquisition Ltd (NASDAQ:AGBA) which was down 50.89% to 5.50 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2825 to 349 and 82 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 3070 rose and 748 declined, while 165 ended unchanged.

Shares in Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) rose to all time highs; up 0.30% or 0.30 to 101.89. Shares in Apyx Medical Inc (NASDAQ:APYX) fell to 5-year lows; losing 60.45% or 2.66 to 1.74. Shares in AGBA Acquisition Ltd (NASDAQ:AGBA) fell to all time lows; losing 50.89% or 5.70 to 5.50.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 9.81% to 23.53 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 2.67% or 45.70 to $1,759.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.55% or 0.47 to hit $86.30 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 0.90% or 0.83 to trade at $93.48 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 2.01% to 1.02, while USD/JPY fell 3.93% to 140.68.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 2.52% at 107.68.