U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.17%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.17%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.76%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 2.48%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 6.23% or 1.77 points to trade at 30.18 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 4.05% or 10.76 points to end at 276.20 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 3.44% or 5.72 points to 172.21 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 1.27% or 0.47 points to trade at 36.59 at the close. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 0.57% or 0.79 points to end at 138.28 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was down 0.44% or 1.28 points to 286.69.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) which rose 10.33% to 34.38, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) which was up 7.72% to settle at 96.60 and Under Armour Inc C (NYSE:UA) which gained 6.28% to close at 7.62.

The worst performers were SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) which was down 6.81% to 285.57 in late trade, Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) which lost 4.79% to settle at 15.30 and Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) which was down 3.86% to 2.49 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holding (NASDAQ:CRBP) which rose 97.59% to 5.75, OncoCyte Corp (NASDAQ:OCX) which was up 51.50% to settle at 0.30 and Baudax Bio Inc (NASDAQ:BXRX) which gained 44.36% to close at 1.92.

The worst performers were LivePerson Inc (NASDAQ:LPSN) which was down 57.73% to 4.13 in late trade, Esperion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ESPR) which lost 54.27% to settle at 1.82 and Proterra Inc (NASDAQ:PTRA) which was down 53.59% to 1.17 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2198 to 804 and 94 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2409 rose and 1170 declined, while 148 ended unchanged.

Shares in Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) fell to 5-year lows; down 4.79% or 0.77 to 15.30. Shares in Lumen Technologies Inc (NYSE:LUMN) fell to 5-year lows; down 3.86% or 0.10 to 2.49. Shares in LivePerson Inc (NASDAQ:LPSN) fell to 5-year lows; down 57.73% or 5.64 to 4.13. Shares in Esperion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ESPR) fell to all time lows; down 54.27% or 2.16 to 1.82. Shares in Proterra Inc (NASDAQ:PTRA) fell to all time lows; falling 53.59% or 1.35 to 1.17.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 12.05% to 22.99.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.39% or 7.60 to $1,923.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.93% or 0.63 to hit $68.24 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 0.07% or 0.05 to trade at $74.70 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.06% to 1.06, while USD/JPY fell 0.00% to 133.71.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.15% at 104.12.