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 Wednesday, as gains in the Consumer Services, Technology and Financials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.03% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.89%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.25%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 3.69% or 6.69 points to trade at 187.83 at the close. Meanwhile, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) added 2.79% or 6.18 points to end at 227.88 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was up 2.64% or 2.78 points to 108.10 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which fell 1.40% or 2.19 points to trade at 154.43 at the close. Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declined 0.31% or 0.49 points to end at 155.72 and Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 0.06% or 0.10 points to 161.93.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PARA) which rose 11.80% to 12.51, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) which was up 4.92% to settle at 12.90 and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) which gained 4.73% to close at 135.53.

The worst performers were Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) which was down 2.53% to 60.88 in late trade, Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) which lost 2.40% to settle at 9.15 and Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX) which was down 2.33% to 824.88 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:XTLB) which rose 131.07% to 2.38, ETAO International Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ETAO) which was up 88.81% to settle at 0.27 and Trugolf Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:TRUG) which gained 64.35% to close at 1.89.

The worst performers were NLS Pharmaceutics AG (NASDAQ:NLSP) which was down 40.64% to 0.16 in late trade, Paltalk Inc (NASDAQ:PALT) which lost 36.82% to settle at 2.78 and Lakeshore Acquisition II Corp (NASDAQ:NMHI) which was down 35.97% to 0.92 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2228 to 641 and 68 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2514 rose and 881 declined, while 104 ended unchanged.

Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.73% or 6.12 to 135.53. Shares in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) rose to all time highs; gaining 2.79% or 6.18 to 227.88. Shares in XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:XTLB) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 131.07% or 1.35 to 2.38. Shares in NLS Pharmaceutics AG (NASDAQ:NLSP) fell to all time lows; falling 40.64% or 0.11 to 0.16. Shares in Lakeshore Acquisition II Corp (NASDAQ:NMHI) fell to all time lows; losing 35.97% or 0.52 to 0.92.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.64% to 13.04 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.36% or 29.35 to $2,189.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 1.46% or 1.21 to hit $81.52 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 1.32% or 1.15 to trade at $86.23 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.51% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.33% to 151.35.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.39% at 103.08.