U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.40%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.40%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.34%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.29%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which rose 2.32% or 1.18 points to trade at 52.12 at the close. Meanwhile, Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) added 2.07% or 4.59 points to end at 226.36 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 1.79% or 1.47 points to 83.52 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 2.93% or 1.45 points to trade at 48.11 at the close. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) declined 2.03% or 0.91 points to end at 43.86 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 1.37% or 3.05 points to 219.77.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) which rose 4.54% to 123.07, Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) which was up 4.19% to settle at 82.78 and Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which gained 4.15% to close at 363.90.

The worst performers were JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) which was down 9.60% to 181.51 in late trade, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) which lost 6.79% to settle at 265.84 and Old Dominion Freight Line Inc (NASDAQ:ODFL) which was down 6.76% to 278.50 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (NASDAQ:CSSE) which rose 43.80% to 11.49, Hudson Capital Inc (NASDAQ:HUSN) which was up 36.27% to settle at 2.63 and Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GREE) which gained 33.95% to close at 11.52.

The worst performers were Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc (NASDAQ:SLS) which was down 37.87% to 4.15 in late trade, Cyren Ltd (NASDAQ:CYRN) which lost 36.04% to settle at 3.23 and Pulse Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:PLSE) which was down 26.95% to 3.55 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2138 to 1044 and 108 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2214 rose and 1606 declined, while 195 ended unchanged.

Shares in Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) rose to all time highs; up 4.19% or 3.33 to 82.78. Shares in Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc (NASDAQ:SLS) fell to 52-week lows; down 37.87% or 2.53 to 4.15. Shares in Pulse Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:PLSE) fell to all time lows; losing 26.95% or 1.31 to 3.55.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.52% to 19.63.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 1.38% or 26.90 to $1,922.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.75% or 0.75 to hit $99.53 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract fell 0.12% or 0.13 to trade at $104.58 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.12% to 1.11, while USD/JPY rose 0.69% to 122.50.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.17% at 98.53.