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 Basic Materials, Utilities and Technology sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.25%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.74%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.15%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 2.82% or 6.24 points to trade at 227.41 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 2.04% or 0.68 points to end at 33.98 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 1.72% or 5.51 points to 326.39 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which fell 2.65% or 1.38 points to trade at 50.74 at the close. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) declined 2.38% or 11.02 points to end at 451.87 and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was down 1.19% or 1.60 points to 132.84.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Domino’s Pizza Inc (NYSE:DPZ) which rose 11.09% to 388.59, Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which was up 5.19% to settle at 182.80 and Invesco Plc (NYSE:IVZ) which gained 4.84% to close at 18.41.

The worst performers were Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) which was down 5.84% to 63.80 in late trade, Elevance Health Inc (NYSE:ELV) which lost 4.78% to settle at 414.15 and Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) which was down 4.65% to 268.63 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Petros Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTPI) which rose 93.37% to 3.79, Healthcare Triangle Inc (NASDAQ:HCTI) which was up 90.18% to settle at 6.20 and NFT Gaming Company Inc (NASDAQ:NFTG) which gained 90.07% to close at 1.34.

The worst performers were Painreform Ltd (NASDAQ:PRFX) which was down 51.58% to 7.99 in late trade, CBL International Ltd (NASDAQ:BANL) which lost 43.89% to settle at 2.80 and Yellow Corp (NASDAQ:YELL) which was down 29.55% to 0.93 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2128 to 843 and 54 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2205 rose and 1330 declined, while 130 ended unchanged.

Shares in Elevance Health Inc (NYSE:ELV) fell to 52-week lows; falling 4.78% or 20.77 to 414.15. Shares in Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) rose to 52-week highs; up 2.82% or 6.24 to 227.41. Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) fell to 52-week lows; falling 2.38% or 11.02 to 451.87.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 8.76% to 13.54.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 1.37% or 26.50 to $1,963.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 1.44% or 1.08 to hit $75.91 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.12% or 0.89 to trade at $80.29 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 1.18% to 1.11, while USD/JPY fell 1.33% to 138.51.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 1.17% at 100.22.