U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.85%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.85% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.51%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.27%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which rose 2.54% or 8.62 points to trade at 347.45 at the close. Meanwhile, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) added 2.12% or 7.29 points to end at 351.79 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 1.98% or 8.83 points to 455.78 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which fell 1.34% or 3.75 points to trade at 275.22 at the close. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) declined 1.15% or 1.93 points to end at 166.30 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was down 0.44% or 0.21 points to 47.79.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX) which rose 11.51% to 772.43, NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) which was up 7.81% to settle at 81.74 and STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) which gained 7.59% to close at 226.04.

The worst performers were EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM) which was down 26.99% to 181.93 in late trade, Corpay Inc (NYSE:CPAY) which lost 6.99% to settle at 283.22 and Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) which was down 6.87% to 147.05 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Telesis Bio Inc (NASDAQ:TBIO) which rose 1,792.79% to 6.04, Pop Culture Group Co Ltd (NASDAQ:CPOP) which was up 84.62% to settle at 3.12 and Sezzle Inc (NASDAQ:SEZL) which gained 75.66% to close at 78.59.

The worst performers were EMCORE Corporation (NASDAQ:EMKR) which was down 61.72% to 1.11 in late trade, Tivic Health Systems Inc (NASDAQ:TIVC) which lost 55.97% to settle at 0.59 and CytomX Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CTMX) which was down 51.31% to 2.04 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2034 to 813 and 69 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1994 rose and 1365 declined, while 104 ended unchanged.

Shares in EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM) fell to 52-week lows; down 26.99% or 67.27 to 181.93. Shares in NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) rose to all time highs; gaining 7.81% or 5.92 to 81.74. Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to all time highs; rising 1.98% or 8.83 to 455.78. Shares in EMCORE Corporation (NASDAQ:EMKR) fell to all time lows; down 61.72% or 1.79 to 1.11. Shares in Tivic Health Systems Inc (NASDAQ:TIVC) fell to all time lows; losing 55.97% or 0.75 to 0.59.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.38% to 12.69 a new 3-months low.

Gold Futures for June delivery was up 1.24% or 28.85 to $2,351.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 0.75% or 0.59 to hit $79.58 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 0.72% or 0.60 to trade at $84.18 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.35% to 1.08, while USD/JPY fell 0.02% to 155.45.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.32% at 105.09.