U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.26%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.26% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.70%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 2.49%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 5.37% or 13.56 points to trade at 265.99 at the close. Meanwhile, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) added 5.12% or 18.19 points to end at 373.31 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 3.97% or 19.25 points to 503.83 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), which fell 1.59% or 1.14 points to trade at 70.61 at the close. Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declined 1.40% or 2.43 points to end at 171.49 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was down 1.25% or 0.99 points to 78.04.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) which rose 8.25% to 172.27, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) which was up 7.36% to settle at 243.92 and Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) which gained 6.54% to close at 289.86.

The worst performers were Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) which was down 3.26% to 152.11 in late trade, Ventas Inc (NYSE:VTR) which lost 3.13% to settle at 62.20 and Arthur J Gallagher&Co (NYSE:AJG) which was down 3.08% to 282.21 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Banzai International Inc (NASDAQ:BNZI) which rose 4,014.29% to 2.88, Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:GDHG) which was up 3,593.05% to settle at 3.08 and Garden Stage Ltd (NASDAQ:GSIW) which gained 248.00% to close at 7.83.

The worst performers were Haoxi Health Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:HAO) which was down 73.33% to 0.80 in late trade, Nuzee Inc (NASDAQ:NUZE) which lost 32.82% to settle at 0.69 and Progyny Inc (NASDAQ:PGNY) which was down 32.63% to 16.47 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2190 to 654 and 64 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2434 rose and 847 declined, while 137 ended unchanged.

Shares in Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) rose to all time highs; up 6.54% or 17.80 to 289.86. Shares in Haoxi Health Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:HAO) fell to all time lows; losing 73.33% or 2.20 to 0.80. Shares in Nuzee Inc (NASDAQ:NUZE) fell to all time lows; down 32.82% or 0.34 to 0.69. Shares in Progyny Inc (NASDAQ:PGNY) fell to 3-years lows; losing 32.63% or 7.98 to 16.47.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 10.42% to 16.33.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.50% or 12.95 to $2,611.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.73% or 1.21 to hit $71.09 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.56% or 1.15 to trade at $74.80 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.39% to 1.12, while USD/JPY rose 0.22% to 142.59.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.07% at 100.36.