U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.17%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.17%, while the S&P 500 index added 1.61%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.97%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 3.51% or 5.12 points to trade at 151.03 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 2.40% or 5.05 points to end at 215.11 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 2.29% or 7.99 points to 357.09 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), which fell 0.47% or 0.28 points to trade at 59.44 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) declined 0.39% or 0.15 points to end at 38.26 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was down 0.21% or 0.12 points to 58.32.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Cooper Companies Inc (NYSE:COO) which rose 7.39% to 352.10, Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which was up 7.11% to settle at 221.21 and Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) which gained 6.82% to close at 334.56.

The worst performers were Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) which was down 2.87% to 40.63 in late trade, Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) which lost 2.15% to settle at 475.26 and Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) which was down 1.86% to 3.17 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were ObsEva SA (NASDAQ:OBSV) which rose 116.98% to 0.23, Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KALA) which was up 64.70% to settle at 16.75 and Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp III (NASDAQ:ETAO) which gained 48.20% to close at 2.26.

The worst performers were Praxis Precision Medicines Inc (NASDAQ:PRAX) which was down 65.87% to 1.00 in late trade, Veru Inc (NASDAQ:VERU) which lost 35.98% to settle at 2.42 and Secoo Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:SECO) which was down 31.51% to 1.00 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2447 to 588 and 83 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2508 rose and 1122 declined, while 146 ended unchanged.

Shares in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) fell to 52-week lows; losing 2.87% or 1.20 to 40.63. Shares in Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) fell to 5-year lows; down 1.86% or 0.06 to 3.17. Shares in Praxis Precision Medicines Inc (NASDAQ:PRAX) fell to all time lows; losing 65.87% or 1.92 to 1.00. Shares in Veru Inc (NASDAQ:VERU) fell to 52-week lows; down 35.98% or 1.36 to 2.42. Shares in Secoo Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:SECO) fell to all time lows; falling 31.51% or 0.46 to 1.00.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.62% to 18.49.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.11% or 20.35 to $1,860.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 2.11% or 1.65 to hit $79.81 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 1.38% or 1.17 to trade at $85.92 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.35% to 1.06, while USD/JPY fell 0.68% to 135.82.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.47% at 104.50.