U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.41%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.56%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.31%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), which rose 2.12% or 4.93 points to trade at 238.03 at the close. Meanwhile, Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) added 2.04% or 2.93 points to end at 146.72 and Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) was up 1.64% or 0.98 points to 60.90 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which fell 1.83% or 2.98 points to trade at 159.78 at the close. Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) declined 1.83% or 1.75 points to end at 94.08 and JPMorgan Chase&Co (NYSE:JPM) was down 1.52% or 1.93 points to 124.91.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) which rose 5.91% to 84.39, KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) which was up 5.24% to settle at 11.86 and Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:ISRG) which gained 4.89% to close at 256.42.

The worst performers were Monolithic Power Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MPWR) which was down 4.92% to 485.40 in late trade, Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which lost 4.24% to settle at 195.99 and Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) which was down 4.11% to 502.06 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Greenbrook TMS Inc (NASDAQ:GBNH) which rose 106.00% to 1.03, Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VORB) which was up 50.06% to settle at 0.80 and Virios Therapeutics Llc (NASDAQ:VIRI) which gained 43.55% to close at 0.44.

The worst performers were Allarity Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALLR) which was down 31.95% to 0.08 in late trade, Hyzon Motors Inc (NASDAQ:HYZN) which lost 26.99% to settle at 0.73 and Summit Healthcare Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:YS) which was down 26.31% to 4.79 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1844 to 1139 and 106 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2026 rose and 1522 declined, while 173 ended unchanged.

Shares in Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 5.91% or 4.71 to 84.39. Shares in Allarity Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALLR) fell to all time lows; down 31.95% or 0.04 to 0.08. Shares in Hyzon Motors Inc (NASDAQ:HYZN) fell to all time lows; down 26.99% or 0.27 to 0.73. Shares in Summit Healthcare Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:YS) fell to all time lows; losing 26.31% or 1.71 to 4.79.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.85% to 21.74.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.75% or 14.90 to $1,981.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 1.09% or 0.76 to hit $69.20 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 1.25% or 0.95 to trade at $74.96 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.65% to 1.08, while USD/JPY fell 0.09% to 130.70.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.56% at 102.78.