Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Consumer Services and Basic Materials sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.97% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.25%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.30%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 4.64% or 5.60 points to trade at 126.38 at the close. Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) added 3.28% or 10.30 points to end at 324.56 and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) was up 3.01% or 0.68 points to 23.25 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON), which lost 2.45% or 4.95 points to trade at 197.31 in late trade. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) declined 0.90% or 4.60 points to end at 507.14 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) shed 0.58% or 1.23 points to 209.81.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Corteva Inc (NYSE:CTVA) which rose 18.87% to 54.06, FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) which was up 10.57% to settle at 62.14 and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) which gained 9.12% to close at 255.23.
The worst performers were CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) which was down 12.59% to 73.50 in late trade, Aflac Inc (NYSE:AFL) which lost 9.65% to settle at 76.20 and Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) which was down 6.32% to 39.25 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Neurobo Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:NRBO) which rose 67.28% to 5.47, Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KPRX) which was up 53.87% to settle at 0.85 and Ostin Technology Group Co Ltd (NASDAQ:OST) which gained 45.85% to close at 0.58.
The worst performers were CCSC Technology International Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:CCTG) which was down 81.60% to 3.90 in late trade, ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc (NASDAQ:AEY) which lost 67.02% to settle at 0.61 and Revelation Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:REVB) which was down 63.86% to 3.18 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2235 to 677 and 63 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2107 rose and 1290 declined, while 132 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.16% to 14.04.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.19% or 4.00 to $2,071.40 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 2.48% or 1.88 to hit $73.97 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 2.04% or 1.64 to trade at $78.91 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.51% to 1.09, while USD/JPY fell 0.30% to 146.44.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.18% at 102.90.