U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.88%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.88% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 1.17%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.40%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 3.89% or 10.77 points to trade at 287.57 at the close. Meanwhile, Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) added 2.45% or 7.63 points to end at 319.04 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 2.41% or 8.20 points to 348.70 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which fell 2.49% or 2.62 points to trade at 102.73 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 2.07% or 3.74 points to end at 177.02 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was down 1.51% or 3.28 points to 214.31.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) which rose 15.81% to 952.36, DR Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI) which was up 6.49% to settle at 157.60 and MarketAxess Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MKTX) which gained 6.11% to close at 216.91.

The worst performers were Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) which was down 5.82% to 127.57 in late trade, Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) which lost 4.21% to settle at 8.20 and FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) which was down 3.55% to 63.92 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Burning Rock Biotech Ltd (NASDAQ:BNR) which rose 928.75% to 8.23, T2 Biosystms Inc (NASDAQ:TTOO) which was up 43.51% to settle at 5.97 and Sow Good Inc (NASDAQ:SOWG) which gained 41.85% to close at 15.76.

The worst performers were Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRPX) which was down 65.94% to 0.78 in late trade, Aethlon Medical Inc (NASDAQ:AEMD) which lost 52.95% to settle at 0.40 and MicroCloud Hologram Inc (NASDAQ:HOLO) which was down 32.51% to 2.18 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1982 to 903 and 43 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1932 rose and 1419 declined, while 141 ended unchanged.

Shares in Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRPX) fell to all time lows; falling 65.94% or 1.51 to 0.78. Shares in Aethlon Medical Inc (NASDAQ:AEMD) fell to all time lows; losing 52.95% or 0.45 to 0.40.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.23% to 12.45 a new 3-months low.

Gold Futures for June delivery was up 1.41% or 33.20 to $2,393.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 1.04% or 0.81 to hit $78.83 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 0.69% or 0.57 to trade at $82.95 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.60% to 1.09, while USD/JPY fell 0.96% to 154.93.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.67% at 104.18.