Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Utilities, Telecoms and Healthcare sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.33%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.33%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), which rose 2.88% or 3.72 points to trade at 132.84 at the close. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) added 2.22% or 4.27 points to end at 196.89 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 1.32% or 1.12 points to 86.22 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which lost 1.50% or 1.77 points to trade at 116.36 in late trade. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) declined 1.05% or 0.72 points to end at 67.72 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) shed 0.89% or 0.46 points to 51.03.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) which rose 11.47% to 10.11, Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ:GRMN) which was up 9.60% to settle at 96.35 and Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) which gained 8.27% to close at 54.04.
The worst performers were CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) which was down 14.85% to 77.08 in late trade, McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) which lost 8.44% to settle at 136.79 and Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM) which was down 5.81% to 103.34 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were IVERIC bio Inc (NASDAQ:ISEE) which rose 65.58% to 3.56, Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ:BGFV) which was up 44.81% to settle at 3.49 and Neuralstem Inc (NASDAQ:CUR) which gained 39.69% to close at 1.8300.
The worst performers were Cyclerion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CYCN) which was down 79.52% to 2.75 in late trade, Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:DFFN) which lost 27.28% to settle at 0.6000 and Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which was down 25.53% to 18.760 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1491 to 1360 and 106 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1352 fell and 1258 advanced, while 100 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.59% to 12.33 a new 3-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.49% or 7.25 to $1497.95 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 0.94% or 0.52 to hit $55.02 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 0.02% or 0.01 to trade at $60.17 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.02% to 1.1150, while USD/JPY rose 0.05% to 108.89.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.22% at 97.255.