U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.70%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.70%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.89%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.78%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), which rose 4.22% or 0.87 points to trade at 21.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) added 4.13% or 4.17 points to end at 105.05 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was up 3.31% or 4.77 points to 148.75 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which fell 0.18% or 0.30 points to trade at 168.98 at the close. Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 0.02% or 0.02 points to end at 102.87 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was up 0.39% or 0.65 points to 165.52.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) which rose 13.02% to 14.80, Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX) which was up 11.55% to settle at 209.17 and Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PARA) which gained 10.37% to close at 11.92.

The worst performers were BorgWarner Inc (NYSE:BWA) which was down 13.10% to 32.25 in late trade, Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) which lost 10.29% to settle at 77.22 and Dentsply Sirona Inc (NASDAQ:XRAY) which was down 7.46% to 28.54 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Virios Therapeutics Llc (NASDAQ:VIRI) which rose 57.20% to 0.81, Baijiayun Group Ltd (NASDAQ:RTC) which was up 46.53% to settle at 3.59 and Aware Inc (NASDAQ:AWRE) which gained 45.71% to close at 1.53.

The worst performers were OUTLOOK THERAPEUTICS INC (NASDAQ:OTLK) which was down 46.24% to 0.34 in late trade, Confluent Inc (NASDAQ:CFLT) which lost 42.13% to settle at 16.28 and reAlpha Tech Corp (NASDAQ:AIRE) which was down 40.57% to 10.40 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2588 to 384 and 40 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2650 rose and 868 declined, while 76 ended unchanged.

Shares in BorgWarner Inc (NYSE:BWA) fell to 52-week lows; falling 13.10% or 4.86 to 32.25. Shares in Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) fell to 3-years lows; losing 10.29% or 8.85 to 77.22. Shares in Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) rose to all time highs; gaining 0.39% or 0.65 to 165.52. Shares in Confluent Inc (NASDAQ:CFLT) fell to all time lows; losing 42.13% or 11.85 to 16.28. Shares in reAlpha Tech Corp (NASDAQ:AIRE) fell to all time lows; falling 40.57% or 7.10 to 10.40.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.17% to 15.66 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.27% or 5.30 to $1,992.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 2.55% or 2.05 to hit $82.49 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 2.58% or 2.18 to trade at $86.81 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.46% to 1.06, while USD/JPY fell 0.29% to 150.51.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.64% at 106.03.