U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.39%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.39%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.81%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.35%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which rose 1.78% or 5.57 points to trade at 318.95 at the close. Meanwhile, Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) added 1.70% or 4.43 points to end at 265.44 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was up 1.16% or 1.84 points to 160.93 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which fell 2.33% or 3.89 points to trade at 163.04 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 1.46% or 3.94 points to end at 265.03 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was down 1.39% or 0.44 points to 31.54.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) which rose 5.99% to 261.30, MarketAxess Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MKTX) which was up 4.16% to settle at 213.28 and SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) which gained 4.16% to close at 125.31.

The worst performers were Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) which was down 5.25% to 43.35 in late trade, Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) which lost 4.98% to settle at 24.40 and Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB) which was down 4.73% to 55.84 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Vivos Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VVOS) which rose 63.71% to 0.30, Nuvalent Inc (NASDAQ:NUVL) which was up 35.57% to settle at 57.51 and Histogen Inc (NASDAQ:HSTO) which gained 31.60% to close at 0.66.

The worst performers were Molekule Group Inc (NASDAQ:MKUL) which was down 43.90% to 0.12 in late trade, Lipella Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:LIPO) which lost 31.71% to settle at 1.12 and XORTX Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:XRTX) which was down 31.19% to 0.41 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1754 to 1161 and 83 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1898 rose and 1599 declined, while 121 ended unchanged.

Shares in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) fell to 52-week lows; falling 5.25% or 2.40 to 43.35. Shares in Molekule Group Inc (NASDAQ:MKUL) fell to all time lows; losing 43.90% or 0.09 to 0.12. Shares in Nuvalent Inc (NASDAQ:NUVL) rose to all time highs; gaining 35.57% or 15.09 to 57.51. Shares in Lipella Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:LIPO) fell to all time lows; losing 31.71% or 0.52 to 1.12. Shares in XORTX Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:XRTX) fell to all time lows; down 31.19% or 0.18 to 0.41.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.07% to 18.58.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.28% or 5.15 to $1,836.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 5.12% or 4.57 to hit $84.66 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract fell 5.20% or 4.73 to trade at $86.19 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.43% to 1.05, while USD/JPY rose 0.03% to 149.07.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.22% at 106.48.