U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.66%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Financials, Consumer Services and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.66% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.94%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.38%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which rose 4.36% or 13.67 points to trade at 327.43 at the close. Meanwhile, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) added 2.84% or 0.61 points to end at 22.11 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was up 2.11% or 1.76 points to 85.05 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 1.00% or 5.36 points to trade at 530.77 at the close. Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declined 0.92% or 1.39 points to end at 150.05 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was down 0.79% or 1.17 points to 147.59.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) which rose 18.84% to 112.71, Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ:PODD) which was up 15.76% to settle at 162.58 and Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PARA) which gained 15.44% to close at 13.76.

The worst performers were Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) which was down 12.35% to 50.48 in late trade, Church&Dwight Company Inc (NYSE:CHD) which lost 5.74% to settle at 86.68 and Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) which was down 3.38% to 169.17 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Qurate Retail Inc Series A (NASDAQ:QRTEA) which rose 57.33% to 0.68, Kaixin Auto Holdings (NASDAQ:KXIN) which was up 49.57% to settle at 3.50 and Tenon Medical Inc (NASDAQ:TNON) which gained 47.69% to close at 1.27.

The worst performers were Forbion European Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:ENGN) which was down 31.00% to 13.11 in late trade, Inseego Corp (NASDAQ:INSG) which lost 29.72% to settle at 0.37 and Fox Factory Holding Corp (NASDAQ:FOXF) which was down 27.19% to 60.53 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2434 to 519 and 37 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2685 rose and 803 declined, while 95 ended unchanged.

Shares in Fox Factory Holding Corp (NASDAQ:FOXF) fell to 3-years lows; losing 27.19% or 22.60 to 60.53.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.79% to 14.91 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.31% or 6.25 to $1,999.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 1.96% or 1.62 to hit $80.84 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.98% or 1.72 to trade at $85.13 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 1.02% to 1.07, while USD/JPY fell 0.70% to 149.38.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.99% at 104.92.