U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.22%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.22%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.86%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.51%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 4.96% or 6.23 points to trade at 131.75 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 4.24% or 1.78 points to end at 43.77 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 2.37% or 4.45 points to 191.95 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which fell 1.46% or 4.45 points to trade at 301.38 at the close. Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) declined 0.56% or 1.58 points to end at 279.02 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.05% or 0.22 points to 421.43.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which rose 9.56% to 119.80, First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) which was up 9.33% to settle at 167.45 and Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) which gained 8.25% to close at 685.64.

The worst performers were Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) which was down 3.13% to 288.50 in late trade, ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) which lost 2.57% to settle at 758.60 and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) which was down 2.50% to 613.53 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Lixte Biotechnology Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LIXT) which rose 55.75% to 3.52, Biosig Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:BSGM) which was up 55.32% to settle at 0.73 and Ontrak Inc (NASDAQ:OTRK) which gained 38.69% to close at 0.60.

The worst performers were Gamida Cell Ltd (NASDAQ:GMDA) which was down 82.74% to 0.06 in late trade, Direct Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:DRCT) which lost 39.49% to settle at 16.04 and Wetouch Technology Inc (NASDAQ:WETH) which was down 32.69% to 2.28 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2341 to 544 and 53 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2443 rose and 932 declined, while 112 ended unchanged.

Shares in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) rose to all time highs; rising 8.25% or 52.24 to 685.64. Shares in Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) rose to all time highs; rising 4.96% or 6.23 to 131.75. Shares in Gamida Cell Ltd (NASDAQ:GMDA) fell to all time lows; down 82.74% or 0.28 to 0.06. Shares in Wetouch Technology Inc (NASDAQ:WETH) fell to 52-week lows; losing 32.69% or 1.10 to 2.28.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.47% to 12.78 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.67% or 14.50 to $2,191.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 0.09% or 0.07 to hit $81.69 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.02% or 0.02 to trade at $85.65 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.02% to 1.08, while USD/JPY fell 0.16% to 151.32.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 104.01.