U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.68%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.68% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.32%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.20%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which rose 4.32% or 17.13 points to trade at 413.60 at the close. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) added 2.81% or 10.80 points to end at 395.21 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was up 2.28% or 8.12 points to 364.57 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which fell 4.09% or 7.30 points to trade at 171.37 at the close. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) declined 1.09% or 2.11 points to end at 191.85 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 0.54% or 2.68 points to 491.55.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which rose 14.13% to 109.85, Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) which was up 8.38% to settle at 971.61 and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) which gained 5.64% to close at 1,348.00.

The worst performers were Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) which was down 9.34% to 344.92 in late trade, FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE:FDS) which lost 7.66% to settle at 450.53 and Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) which was down 6.51% to 163.22 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Kaival Brands Innovations Group Inc (NASDAQ:KAVL) which rose 118.80% to 2.91, Yield10 Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ:YTEN) which was up 78.85% to settle at 0.44 and Curiositystream Inc. (NASDAQ:CURI) which gained 65.09% to close at 0.96.

The worst performers were Lixiang Education Holding Co Ltd (NASDAQ:LXEH) which was down 85.74% to 0.74 in late trade, Edoc Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:ADOC) which lost 63.46% to settle at 2.85 and Movella Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MVLA) which was down 62.41% to 0.11 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1925 to 955 and 69 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1875 rose and 1505 declined, while 120 ended unchanged.

Shares in Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) rose to all time highs; gaining 14.13% or 13.60 to 109.85. Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to 52-week highs; up 4.32% or 17.13 to 413.60. Shares in Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) rose to 52-week highs; up 2.81% or 10.80 to 395.21. Shares in Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) rose to all time highs; up 2.28% or 8.12 to 364.57. Shares in Edoc Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:ADOC) fell to all time lows; down 63.46% or 4.95 to 2.85. Shares in Movella Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MVLA) fell to all time lows; losing 62.41% or 0.18 to 0.11.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.92% to 12.92 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.04% or 22.55 to $2,183.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.46% or 0.37 to hit $80.90 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 0.40% or 0.34 to trade at $85.61 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.55% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.27% to 151.65.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.65% at 103.71.