U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.79%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.79% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.47%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.28%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO ), which rose 4.25% or 2.30 points to trade at 56.38 at the close. Meanwhile, Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V ) added 2.95% or 8.23 points to end at 287.52 and Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH ) was up 2.71% or 15.05 points to 571.34 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC ), which fell 1.54% or 0.35 points to trade at 22.31 at the close. Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN ) declined 1.06% or 3.46 points to end at 321.63 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK ) was down 1.00% or 1.11 points to 110.42.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL ) which rose 12.44% to 72.02, Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL ) which was up 6.79% to settle at 56.31 and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS ) which gained 6.49% to close at 119.50.

The worst performers were Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A ) which was down 3.78% to 139.11 in late trade, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC ) which lost 3.55% to settle at 682.59 and Mettler-Toledo International Inc (NYSE:MTD ) which was down 3.37% to 1,404.47 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sharps Technology Inc (NASDAQ:STSS ) which rose 2,191.37% to 3.24, 180 Life Sciences Corp (NASDAQ:ATNF ) which was up 325.66% to settle at 6.47 and Versus Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VS ) which gained 243.48% to close at 3.95.

The worst performers were NewGenIvf Group Ltd (NASDAQ:NIVF ) which was down 37.76% to 1.22 in late trade, JIA DA CORP (NASDAQ:JDZG ) which lost 35.14% to settle at 0.72 and Silvaco Group Inc (NASDAQ:SVCO ) which was down 32.73% to 7.44 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2113 to 691 and 92 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2431 rose and 892 declined, while 111 ended unchanged.

Shares in United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL ) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 12.44% or 7.97 to 72.02. Shares in Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL ) rose to 3-years highs; rising 6.79% or 3.58 to 56.31. Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS ) rose to all time highs; gaining 6.49% or 7.28 to 119.50. Shares in Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO ) rose to 52-week highs; up 4.25% or 2.30 to 56.38. Shares in Sharps Technology Inc (NASDAQ:STSS ) rose to all time highs; rising 2,191.37% or 3.10 to 3.24. Shares in Versus Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VS ) rose to 52-week highs; up 243.48% or 2.80 to 3.95. Shares in Silvaco Group Inc (NASDAQ:SVCO ) fell to all time lows; down 32.73% or 3.62 to 7.44.

The CBOE Volatility Index , which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.14% to 19.58.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.41% or 10.90 to $2,689.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 0.04% or 0.03 to hit $70.61 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 0.23% or 0.17 to trade at $74.42 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.28% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.32% to 149.66.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.30% at 103.36.

Source: Investing.com