U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.33%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Oil&Gas, Technology and Industrials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.33%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.53%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.72%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which rose 1.30% or 3.26 points to trade at 254.77 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.31% or 1.43 points to end at 110.59 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 1.15% or 2.37 points to 208.13 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 1.88% or 0.74 points to trade at 38.54 at the close. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 1.49% or 2.15 points to end at 142.09 and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was down 0.69% or 1.86 points to 266.78.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which rose 14.02% to 236.64, ANSYS Inc (NASDAQ:ANSS) which was up 10.48% to settle at 294.75 and Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) which gained 7.55% to close at 159.61.

The worst performers were Domino’s Pizza Inc (NYSE:DPZ) which was down 11.60% to 308.05 in late trade, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which lost 6.70% to settle at 147.57 and eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) which was down 5.22% to 45.35 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Ocean Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:OCEA) which rose 124.53% to 10.80, Genesis Growth Tech Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:GGAA) which was up 63.94% to settle at 17.05 and Atlas Lithium Corp (NASDAQ:ATLX) which gained 60.47% to close at 19.85.

The worst performers were Intuitive Machines Inc (NASDAQ:LUNR) which was down 75.24% to 20.30 in late trade, Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INFI) which lost 48.96% to settle at 0.28 and Lucira Health Inc (NASDAQ:LHDX) which was down 45.78% to 0.12 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1972 to 1044 and 89 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1976 rose and 1629 declined, while 207 ended unchanged.

Shares in Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) rose to all time highs; up 7.55% or 11.21 to 159.61. Shares in Ocean Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:OCEA) rose to all time highs; rising 124.53% or 5.99 to 10.80. Shares in Genesis Growth Tech Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:GGAA) rose to all time highs; up 63.94% or 6.65 to 17.05. Shares in Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INFI) fell to all time lows; falling 48.96% or 0.27 to 0.28.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.16% to 21.14.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.64% or 11.70 to $1,829.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 2.22% or 1.64 to hit $75.59 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 2.30% or 1.85 to trade at $82.45 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.06% to 1.06, while USD/JPY fell 0.13% to 134.73.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.03% at 104.55.