U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.59%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.48%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.01%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which rose 2.85% or 14.69 points to trade at 530.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) added 2.58% or 1.20 points to end at 47.79 and Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 1.88% or 1.92 points to 104.23 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which fell 1.10% or 1.65 points to trade at 148.04 at the close. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) declined 0.95% or 0.38 points to end at 39.75 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was down 0.60% or 1.10 points to 182.99.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) which rose 9.86% to 107.59, Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which was up 7.55% to settle at 13.67 and Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) which gained 4.37% to close at 37.73.

The worst performers were Live Nation Entertainment Inc (NYSE:LYV) which was down 7.85% to 66.21 in late trade, Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) which lost 3.66% to settle at 52.16 and Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG) which was down 3.44% to 156.22 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were AGBA Acquisition Ltd (NASDAQ:AGBA) which rose 50.67% to 6.78, Paxmedica Inc (NASDAQ:PXMD) which was up 37.42% to settle at 2.13 and Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc ADR (NASDAQ:MFH) which gained 32.91% to close at 1.05.

The worst performers were Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KPRX) which was down 35.85% to 3.83 in late trade, Bit Origin Ltd (NASDAQ:BTOG) which lost 30.64% to settle at 0.15 and InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INM) which was down 28.13% to 2.76 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1864 to 1219 and 126 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2001 rose and 1770 declined, while 215 ended unchanged.

Shares in Live Nation Entertainment Inc (NYSE:LYV) fell to 52-week lows; falling 7.85% or 5.64 to 66.21. Shares in Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.88% or 1.92 to 104.23. Shares in Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KPRX) fell to 5-year lows; down 35.85% or 2.14 to 3.83. Shares in Bit Origin Ltd (NASDAQ:BTOG) fell to all time lows; losing 30.64% or 0.06 to 0.15.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.38% to 23.12.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.66% or 11.55 to $1,751.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 1.74% or 1.42 to hit $80.22 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 2.16% or 1.94 to trade at $87.84 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.36% to 1.03, while USD/JPY rose 0.14% to 140.38.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.25% at 106.86.