U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.03%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Industrials and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.03% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.21%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.08%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 4.05% or 4.37 points to trade at 112.23 at the close. Meanwhile, Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) added 3.69% or 6.78 points to end at 190.44 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 2.85% or 7.67 points to 276.41 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which fell 2.03% or 3.22 points to trade at 155.74 at the close. Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 1.41% or 1.29 points to end at 89.94 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was down 1.17% or 0.47 points to 39.71.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) which rose 9.86% to 104.92, The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) which was up 9.48% to settle at 22.28 and Rollins Inc (NYSE:ROL) which gained 9.08% to close at 38.57.

The worst performers were Stanley Black&Decker Inc (NYSE:SWK) which was down 16.07% to 98.58 in late trade, Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) which lost 13.91% to settle at 97.68 and Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) which was down 10.93% to 59.50 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Athersys Inc (NASDAQ:ATHX) which rose 71.05% to 0.32, SKYX Platforms Corp (NASDAQ:SKYX) which was up 68.59% to settle at 7.03 and Aridis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARDS) which gained 37.14% to close at 1.92.

The worst performers were Missfresh Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:MF) which was down 42.55% to 0.14 in late trade, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:LXRX) which lost 26.61% to settle at 2.40 and ObsEva SA (NASDAQ:OBSV) which was down 23.74% to 0.30 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2361 to 760 and 112 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2231 rose and 1524 declined, while 216 ended unchanged.

Shares in Stanley Black&Decker Inc (NYSE:SWK) fell to 52-week lows; losing 16.07% or 18.87 to 98.58. Shares in Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) fell to 52-week lows; down 13.91% or 15.78 to 97.68. Shares in Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) fell to 5-year lows; down 10.93% or 7.30 to 59.50. Shares in Missfresh Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:MF) fell to all time lows; down 42.55% or 0.10 to 0.14. Shares in ObsEva SA (NASDAQ:OBSV) fell to all time lows; down 23.74% or 0.09 to 0.30.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.92% to 22.33 a new 3-months low.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 2.07% or 35.50 to $1,754.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.15% or 0.15 to hit $97.11 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 0.57% or 0.58 to trade at $102.25 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.09% to 1.02, while USD/JPY fell 1.69% to 134.24.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.25% at 106.06.