U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.25%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.25%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.18%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.95%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 2.50% or 0.75 points to trade at 30.78 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.91% or 7.94 points to end at 424.01 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 1.40% or 6.38 points to 461.68 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which fell 2.95% or 1.40 points to trade at 46.02 at the close. Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) declined 1.77% or 1.83 points to end at 101.50 and Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was down 1.24% or 1.83 points to 145.97.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) which rose 10.68% to 19.48, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which was up 6.54% to settle at 154.84 and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) which gained 6.18% to close at 1,413.09.

The worst performers were Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb) which was down 5.90% to 43.04 in late trade, Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) which lost 4.92% to settle at 114.38 and CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which was down 4.56% to 76.84 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Actelis Networks Inc (NASDAQ:ASNS) which rose 691.49% to 3.72, Jowell Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:JWEL) which was up 111.32% to settle at 2.24 and ENDRA Life Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:NDRA) which gained 63.06% to close at 0.14.

The worst performers were Silo Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:SILO) which was down 46.67% to 1.20 in late trade, SHENGFENG DEVELOPMENT Ltd (NASDAQ:SFWL) which lost 43.88% to settle at 1.10 and MicroAlgo Inc (NASDAQ:MLGO) which was down 41.97% to 6.97 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1893 to 941 and 93 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2129 rose and 1241 declined, while 122 ended unchanged.

Shares in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 10.68% or 1.88 to 19.48. Shares in Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb) fell to 5-year lows; down 5.90% or 2.70 to 43.04. Shares in Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) fell to 52-week lows; losing 2.95% or 1.40 to 46.02. Shares in Actelis Networks Inc (NASDAQ:ASNS) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 691.49% or 3.25 to 3.72. Shares in Silo Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:SILO) fell to all time lows; down 46.67% or 1.05 to 1.20. Shares in SHENGFENG DEVELOPMENT Ltd (NASDAQ:SFWL) fell to all time lows; falling 43.88% or 0.86 to 1.10.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.03% to 12.63.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 1.11% or 26.10 to $2,373.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 1.27% or 0.93 to hit $74.18 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 1.25% or 0.97 to trade at $78.49 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.09% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.82% to 156.14.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.20% at 104.26.