U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.18%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.18%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.29%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.41%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 2.28% or 4.01 points to trade at 180.01 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 2.21% or 3.53 points to end at 163.60 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was up 1.35% or 1.55 points to 116.41 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW), which fell 2.48% or 1.38 points to trade at 54.24 at the close. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) declined 1.79% or 0.67 points to end at 36.77 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 1.55% or 3.05 points to 194.16.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) which rose 9.03% to 14.01, Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which was up 8.17% to settle at 210.75 and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) which gained 7.62% to close at 41.93.

The worst performers were Advance Auto Parts Inc (NYSE:AAP) which was down 9.70% to 179.74 in late trade, Newell Brands Inc (NASDAQ:NWL) which lost 3.42% to settle at 20.06 and AutoZone Inc (NYSE:AZO) which was down 2.60% to 2,231.81 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Minerva Neurosciences Inc (NASDAQ:NERV) which rose 66.52% to 7.51, Supercom Lt (NASDAQ:SPCB) which was up 62.36% to settle at 0.42 and Bright Minds Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:DRUG) which gained 48.87% to close at 1.98.

The worst performers were 9F Inc (NASDAQ:JFU) which was down 28.33% to 0.43 in late trade, Windtree Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:WINT) which lost 28.14% to settle at 0.50 and InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INM) which was down 23.10% to 0.27 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1946 to 1139 and 124 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2315 rose and 1504 declined, while 196 ended unchanged.

Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) fell to 52-week lows; down 1.79% or 0.67 to 36.77. Shares in 9F Inc (NASDAQ:JFU) fell to all time lows; down 28.33% or 0.17 to 0.43. Shares in InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INM) fell to all time lows; falling 23.10% or 0.08 to 0.27.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.35% to 22.82.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.24% or 4.25 to $1,765.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.67% or 1.57 to hit $95.31 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 1.51% or 1.51 to trade at $101.73 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.05% to 1.00, while USD/JPY rose 0.24% to 137.10.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.02% at 108.53.