U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.31%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Telecoms, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.31% to hit a new 52-week high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.24%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.03%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which rose 5.28% or 1.71 points to trade at 33.98 at the close. Meanwhile, Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) added 2.92% or 6.65 points to end at 234.28 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 2.32% or 1.19 points to 52.43 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which fell 1.40% or 2.97 points to trade at 208.60 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 1.23% or 4.41 points to end at 355.08 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 0.51% or 0.91 points to 177.13.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) which rose 13.36% to 81.28, AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) which was up 8.48% to settle at 14.59 and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) which gained 6.44% to close at 11.40.

The worst performers were Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE:OMC) which was down 10.36% to 87.78 in late trade, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) which lost 7.88% to settle at 37.66 and Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) which was down 5.00% to 342.58 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SXTP) which rose 36.36% to 3.30, SMX Security Matters Ord Shs Class A (NASDAQ:SMX) which was up 28.08% to settle at 0.19 and enVVeno Medical Corp (NASDAQ:NVNO) which gained 27.47% to close at 4.64.

The worst performers were Sono Group NV (NASDAQ:SEV) which was down 32.42% to 0.23 in late trade, Amarin Corporation PLC (NASDAQ:AMRN) which lost 24.48% to settle at 1.08 and Carmell Therapeutics Corp (NASDAQ:CTCX) which was down 24.21% to 6.51 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1832 to 1084 and 100 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1947 rose and 1577 declined, while 132 ended unchanged.

Shares in Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) rose to 52-week highs; rising 2.92% or 6.65 to 234.28. Shares in Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose to 52-week highs; up 2.32% or 1.19 to 52.43. Shares in Carmell Therapeutics Corp (NASDAQ:CTCX) fell to all time lows; down 24.21% or 2.08 to 6.51.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 3.46% to 13.76.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.01% or 0.20 to $1,981.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.45% or 0.34 to hit $75.32 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 0.20% or 0.16 to trade at $79.47 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.22% to 1.12, while USD/JPY rose 0.65% to 139.71.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.37% at 100.00.