U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.12%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Consumer Services and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.12%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.52%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.90%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 3.00% or 9.00 points to trade at 308.77 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 2.52% or 1.06 points to end at 43.05 and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was up 2.08% or 3.60 points to 176.76 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which fell 1.73% or 1.03 points to trade at 58.59 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 1.64% or 3.40 points to end at 203.60 and Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) was down 1.31% or 3.63 points to 273.83.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) which rose 14.43% to 35.28, FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) which was up 9.98% to settle at 56.41 and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) which gained 9.06% to close at 192.53.

The worst performers were Xcel Energy Inc (NASDAQ:XEL) which was down 8.64% to 52.69 in late trade, Bath&Body Works Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) which lost 5.42% to settle at 45.71 and Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which was down 5.38% to 92.24 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Societal CDMO Inc (NASDAQ:SCTL) which rose 132.61% to 1.07, Enveric Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ENVB) which was up 74.70% to settle at 1.45 and Sidus Space Inc (NASDAQ:SIDU) which gained 61.22% to close at 8.98.

The worst performers were JLong Group Ltd (NASDAQ:JL) which was down 84.38% to 2.00 in late trade, Kineta Inc (NASDAQ:KA) which lost 63.72% to settle at 0.82 and LivePerson Inc (NASDAQ:LPSN) which was down 47.08% to 1.27 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1964 to 904 and 52 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1940 rose and 1488 declined, while 89 ended unchanged.

Shares in Xcel Energy Inc (NASDAQ:XEL) fell to 3-years lows; falling 8.64% or 4.98 to 52.69. Shares in Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) rose to all time highs; up 9.06% or 15.99 to 192.53. Shares in Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) rose to 52-week highs; rising 3.00% or 9.00 to 308.77. Shares in Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose to 52-week highs; rising 2.08% or 3.60 to 176.76. Shares in JLong Group Ltd (NASDAQ:JL) fell to all time lows; down 84.38% or 10.80 to 2.00. Shares in Kineta Inc (NASDAQ:KA) fell to all time lows; falling 63.72% or 1.44 to 0.82. Shares in LivePerson Inc (NASDAQ:LPSN) fell to 5-year lows; falling 47.08% or 1.13 to 1.27.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.18% to 13.40.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.47% or 9.55 to $2,052.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 0.32% or 0.25 to hit $78.29 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 0.22% or 0.18 to trade at $81.97 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.29% to 1.08, while USD/JPY fell 0.47% to 149.96.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.17% at 104.08.