Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Technology sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.79%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.55%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.86%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT), which rose 4.73% or 2.76 points to trade at 61.08 at the close. Meanwhile, Chevron Corporation (N:CVX) added 3.16% or 2.63 points to end at 85.92 and Nike Inc (N:NKE) was up 2.72% or 1.62 points to 61.20 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were American Express Company (N:AXP), which fell 3.01% or 1.64 points to trade at 52.88 at the close. Merck & Company Inc (N:MRK) declined 2.32% or 1.17 points to end at 49.20 and Visa Inc (N:V) was down 2.21% or 1.57 points to 69.34.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Under Armour Inc (N:UA) which rose 22.53% to 84.03, Facebook Inc (O:FB) which was up 15.52% to settle at 109.11 and Hess Corporation (N:HES) which gained 9.47% to close at 40.34.
The worst performers were Alliance Data Systems Corporation (N:ADS) which was down 19.37% to 199.00 in late trade, United Rentals Inc (N:URI) which lost 18.36% to settle at 45.59 and Juniper Networks Inc (N:JNPR) which was down 15.37% to 22.46 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Amedica Corp (O:AMDA) which rose 58.46% to 3.090, Neos Therapeutics Inc (O:NEOS) which was up 42.04% to settle at 13.38 and Entertainment Gaming Asia (O:EGT) which gained 32.72% to close at 2.150.
The worst performers were OSI Systems Inc (O:OSIS) which was down 31.78% to 52.02 in late trade, Attunity Ltd (O:ATTU) which lost 31.44% to settle at 6.520 and Silicon Graphics International (O:SGI) which was down 30.09% to 5.32 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2227 to 1169 and 3 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1341 rose and 1246 declined, while 65 ended unchanged.
Shares in Alliance Data Systems Corporation (N:ADS) fell to 52-week lows; losing 19.37% or 47.80 to 199.00. Shares in Facebook Inc (O:FB) rose to all time highs; rising 15.52% or 14.66 to 109.11. Shares in United Rentals Inc (N:URI) fell to 3-years lows; losing 18.36% or 10.25 to 45.59. Shares in American Express Company (N:AXP) fell to 3-years lows; falling 3.01% or 1.64 to 52.88. Shares in OSI Systems Inc (O:OSIS) fell to 52-week lows; falling 31.78% or 24.23 to 52.02. Shares in Attunity Ltd (O:ATTU) fell to 52-week lows; losing 31.44% or 2.990 to 6.520.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.20% to 22.37.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.13% or 1.50 to $1114.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 4.60% or 1.49 to hit $33.78 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 4.21% or 1.43 to trade at $35.36 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.44% to 1.0941, while USD/JPY rose 0.14% to 118.84.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.40% at 98.63.