U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.08%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.08% to hit a new 52-week high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.28%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.61%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), which rose 5.33% or 5.56 points to trade at 109.83 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.70% or 5.87 points to end at 350.98 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was up 1.77% or 0.93 points to 53.48 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which fell 1.59% or 2.78 points to trade at 172.06 at the close. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) declined 1.18% or 4.23 points to end at 354.70 and Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 1.16% or 1.26 points to 107.53.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Packaging Corp of America (NYSE:PKG) which rose 10.08% to 152.65, MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) which was up 9.27% to settle at 549.34 and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) which gained 6.21% to close at 117.10.

The worst performers were Rtx Corp (NYSE:RTX) which was down 10.23% to 87.09 in late trade, Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK) which lost 9.68% to settle at 48.17 and Invesco Plc (NYSE:IVZ) which was down 7.52% to 16.61 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Aurora Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:AURC) which rose 223.03% to 33.53, Inpixon (NASDAQ:INPX) which was up 89.49% to settle at 0.29 and Electra Battery Materials Corp (NASDAQ:ELBM) which gained 70.73% to close at 2.10.

The worst performers were Humanigen Inc (NASDAQ:HGEN) which was down 81.12% to 0.04 in late trade, 9 Meters Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:NMTR) which lost 42.97% to settle at 0.07 and ViewRay Inc (NASDAQ:VRAY) which was down 39.90% to 0.03 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1491 to 1451 and 82 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2055 fell and 1493 advanced, while 113 ended unchanged.

Shares in Packaging Corp of America (NYSE:PKG) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 10.08% or 13.98 to 152.65. Shares in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) rose to 5-year highs; rising 6.21% or 6.85 to 117.10. Shares in Aurora Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:AURC) rose to all time highs; gaining 223.03% or 23.15 to 33.53. Shares in Humanigen Inc (NASDAQ:HGEN) fell to all time lows; losing 81.12% or 0.16 to 0.04. Shares in 9 Meters Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:NMTR) fell to all time lows; falling 42.97% or 0.05 to 0.07. Shares in ViewRay Inc (NASDAQ:VRAY) fell to all time lows; falling 39.90% or 0.02 to 0.03.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.36% to 13.86.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.21% or 4.10 to $1,966.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 1.12% or 0.88 to hit $79.62 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 0.86% or 0.71 to trade at $83.19 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.07% to 1.11, while USD/JPY fell 0.35% to 140.95.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 101.03.