U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.43%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.43% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.91%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 2.37%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which rose 5.40% or 15.56 points to trade at 303.63 at the close. Meanwhile, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) added 4.56% or 0.92 points to end at 21.09 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was up 3.68% or 1.81 points to 51.05 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which fell 1.35% or 2.30 points to trade at 168.70 at the close. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) declined 0.39% or 2.11 points to end at 540.46 and Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 0.29% or 0.30 points to 102.17.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which rose 16.35% to 91.39, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE) which was up 11.67% to settle at 105.32 and First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) which gained 11.43% to close at 149.14.

The worst performers were McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) which was down 3.57% to 453.82 in late trade, CME Group Inc (NASDAQ:CME) which lost 2.45% to settle at 211.76 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which was down 2.37% to 369.95 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Biocardia Inc (NASDAQ:BCDA) which rose 168.17% to 1.07, reAlpha Tech Corp (NASDAQ:AIRE) which was up 103.74% to settle at 12.00 and Turnstone Biologics Corp (NASDAQ:TSBX) which gained 66.11% to close at 2.99.

The worst performers were Beauty Health Co (NASDAQ:SKIN) which was down 64.36% to 1.39 in late trade, Applied UV Inc (NASDAQ:AUVI) which lost 40.76% to settle at 0.16 and Gamida Cell Ltd (NASDAQ:GMDA) which was down 37.67% to 0.37 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2655 to 282 and 38 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2672 rose and 834 declined, while 84 ended unchanged.

Shares in Beauty Health Co (NASDAQ:SKIN) fell to all time lows; losing 64.36% or 2.51 to 1.39. Shares in Applied UV Inc (NASDAQ:AUVI) fell to all time lows; losing 40.76% or 0.11 to 0.16. Shares in Gamida Cell Ltd (NASDAQ:GMDA) fell to all time lows; down 37.67% or 0.22 to 0.37.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.07% to 14.16 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.85% or 16.55 to $1,966.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 0.08% or 0.06 to hit $78.20 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 0.10% or 0.08 to trade at $82.44 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 1.68% to 1.09, while USD/JPY fell 0.88% to 150.38.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 1.48% at 103.94.