U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2.59%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.59% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 2.46%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 2.87%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 10.66% or 2.80 points to trade at 29.07 at the close. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 7.56% or 10.94 points to end at 155.74 and Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) was up 4.30% or 8.44 points to 204.93 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW), which fell 0.32% or 0.15 points to trade at 47.47 at the close. Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 1.05% or 1.05 points to end at 100.79 and JPMorgan Chase&Co (NYSE:JPM) was up 1.12% or 1.40 points to 126.00.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were DexCom Inc (NASDAQ:DXCM) which rose 19.38% to 120.87, Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) which was up 12.92% to settle at 79.27 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) which gained 10.66% to close at 29.07.

The worst performers were DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (NYSE:DVA) which was down 27.09% to 70.54 in late trade, Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) which lost 18.03% to settle at 70.74 and Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc (NYSE:BIO) which was down 8.04% to 354.06 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Aeglea Bio Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AGLE) which rose 61.40% to 0.92, Nuvalent Inc (NASDAQ:NUVL) which was up 60.64% to settle at 35.34 and Bull Horn Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:BHSE) which gained 43.98% to close at 11.95.

The worst performers were Greenlane Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GNLN) which was down 59.53% to 0.49 in late trade, VERB TECHNOLOGY COMPANY INC (NASDAQ:VERB) which lost 24.95% to settle at 0.22 and Fednat Holding Co (NASDAQ:FNHC) which was down 22.05% to 0.28 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2325 to 768 and 102 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2615 rose and 1116 declined, while 181 ended unchanged.

Shares in DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (NYSE:DVA) fell to 52-week lows; down 27.09% or 26.21 to 70.54. Shares in Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) rose to 52-week highs; up 12.92% or 9.07 to 79.27. Shares in Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) fell to 52-week lows; losing 18.03% or 15.56 to 70.74. Shares in Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc (NYSE:BIO) fell to 52-week lows; falling 8.04% or 30.96 to 354.06. Shares in Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) rose to all time highs; up 1.05% or 1.05 to 100.79. Shares in Greenlane Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GNLN) fell to all time lows; falling 59.53% or 0.73 to 0.49. Shares in Nuvalent Inc (NASDAQ:NUVL) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 60.64% or 13.34 to 35.34. Shares in VERB TECHNOLOGY COMPANY INC (NASDAQ:VERB) fell to 5-year lows; down 24.95% or 0.07 to 0.22. Shares in Bull Horn Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:BHSE) rose to all time highs; rising 43.98% or 3.65 to 11.95.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.99% to 25.75 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 1.10% or 18.30 to $1,647.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 0.90% or 0.80 to hit $88.28 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 0.95% or 0.90 to trade at $94.14 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.03% to 1.00, while USD/JPY rose 0.81% to 147.46.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 110.54.