Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Monday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.39% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 1.45%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.47%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were United Technologies Corporation (N:UTX), which rose 4.69% or 4.14 points to trade at 92.37 at the close. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH) added 3.05% or 3.59 points to end at 121.27 and Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT) was up 2.89% or 1.89 points to 67.31 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Exxon Mobil Corporation (N:XOM), which lost 0.13% or 0.11 points to trade at 82.39 in late trade. Cisco Systems Inc (O:CSCO) added 0.23% or 0.06 points to end at 26.61 and Coca-Cola Company (N:KO) gained 0.39% or 0.17 points to 43.94.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Chesapeake Energy Corporation (N:CHK) which rose 19.50% to 2.39, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (N:FCX) which was up 14.60% to settle at 7.93 and Alcoa Inc (N:AA) which gained 13.21% to close at 8.91.
The worst performers were Sysco Corporation (N:SYY) which was down 4.89% to 42.79 in late trade, Perrigo Co (N:PRGO) which lost 4.07% to settle at 124.08 and Whole Foods Market Inc (O:WFM) which was down 2.33% to 30.66 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were PhotoMedex Inc (O:PHMD) which rose 38.85% to 0.6111, Parnell Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd (O:PARN) which was up 33.64% to settle at 2.86 and Industrial Services of America Inc (O:IDSA) which gained 29.24% to close at 1.68.
The worst performers were IRSA Propiedades Comerciales SA (O:IRCP) which was down 100.00% to 0.000 in late trade, Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corp Ltd (O:APWC) which lost 100.00% to settle at 0.000 and Birner Dental Management Services (O:BDMS) which was down 100.00% to 0.00 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2572 to 797 and 22 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1802 rose and 846 declined, while 65 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.60% to 19.38 a new 1-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold for April delivery was down 1.77% or 21.80 to $1209.00 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 5.17% or 1.64 to hit $33.39 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 5.03% or 1.66 to trade at $34.67 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.90% to 1.1031, while USD/JPY rose 0.20% to 112.88.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.77% at 97.36.