U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.10%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil&Gas, Utilities and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.34%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.74%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which rose 2.42% or 3.86 points to trade at 163.27 at the close. Meanwhile, Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) added 2.08% or 3.36 points to end at 164.69 and Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 1.59% or 1.36 points to 86.95 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON), which fell 2.71% or 5.01 points to trade at 179.97 at the close. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) declined 2.44% or 2.94 points to end at 117.53 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was down 1.67% or 0.80 points to 47.07.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Coterra Energy Inc (NYSE:CTRA) which rose 7.20% to 32.23, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) which was up 6.72% to settle at 41.74 and Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which gained 6.17% to close at 139.40.

The worst performers were Nucor Corp (NYSE:NUE) which was down 11.32% to 120.70 in late trade, Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) which lost 6.81% to settle at 83.90 and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) which was down 6.27% to 17.18 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Avenue Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ATXI) which rose 53.20% to 0.36, Aileron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALRN) which was up 42.21% to settle at 0.27 and Dawson Geophysical Company (NASDAQ:DWSN) which gained 41.44% to close at 1.57.

The worst performers were Neurobo Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:NRBO) which was down 43.61% to 16.86 in late trade, Vintage Wine Estates Inc (NASDAQ:VWE) which lost 40.33% to settle at 3.30 and Aditx Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ADTX) which was down 38.22% to 11.43 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1581 to 1503 and 121 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1967 fell and 1774 advanced, while 220 ended unchanged.

Shares in Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) fell to 52-week lows; down 1.67% or 0.80 to 47.07. Shares in Vintage Wine Estates Inc (NASDAQ:VWE) fell to all time lows; down 40.33% or 2.23 to 3.30.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.07% to 26.16.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.63% or 10.80 to $1,706.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.74% or 1.52 to hit $88.83 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.30% or 1.21 to trade at $94.38 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.09% to 1.00, while USD/JPY fell 0.97% to 143.15.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.15% at 109.36.