U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.36%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.36% to hit a new 52-week high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.41%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.45%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 3.00% or 7.12 points to trade at 244.45 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 1.82% or 6.27 points to end at 350.89 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was up 1.33% or 1.90 points to 144.32 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON), which fell 1.61% or 3.18 points to trade at 194.61 at the close. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 1.08% or 1.64 points to end at 150.82 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was down 1.05% or 0.41 points to 38.24.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PARA) which rose 12.11% to 16.85, Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) which was up 6.01% to settle at 11.47 and Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) which gained 5.37% to close at 489.64.

The worst performers were Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which was down 3.88% to 103.01 in late trade, Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) which lost 3.86% to settle at 127.19 and Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which was down 3.58% to 112.94 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Intensity Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:INTS) which rose 63.81% to 6.88, Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CDT) which was up 45.48% to settle at 5.15 and Assure Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IONM) which gained 34.43% to close at 0.35.

The worst performers were Cyngn Inc (NASDAQ:CYN) which was down 47.00% to 0.21 in late trade, Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:GDHG) which lost 41.38% to settle at 1.36 and Bluebird bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLUE) which was down 40.54% to 2.86 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1644 to 1238 and 83 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1969 rose and 1497 declined, while 114 ended unchanged.

Shares in Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) rose to all time highs; gaining 5.37% or 24.97 to 489.64. Shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) rose to 52-week highs; rising 3.00% or 7.12 to 244.45. Shares in Intensity Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:INTS) rose to all time highs; gaining 63.81% or 2.68 to 6.88. Shares in Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:GDHG) fell to all time lows; losing 41.38% or 0.96 to 1.36.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.44% to 12.35 a new 3-years low.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 1.30% or 26.55 to $2,019.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 2.80% or 1.94 to hit $71.28 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 2.51% or 1.86 to trade at $75.91 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.26% to 1.08, while USD/JPY rose 0.60% to 144.98.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.43% at 103.95.