U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.60%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Consumer Services, Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.60%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.95%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.51%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which rose 3.14% or 4.88 points to trade at 160.51 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 2.23% or 2.66 points to end at 122.06 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 1.96% or 5.65 points to 293.57 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which fell 1.64% or 2.42 points to trade at 145.21 at the close. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declined 0.98% or 1.78 points to end at 179.62 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 0.94% or 0.89 points to 93.75.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which rose 12.46% to 10.65, Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) which was up 8.97% to settle at 80.06 and Bath & Body Works Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) which gained 8.71% to close at 39.30.

The worst performers were Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) which was down 3.24% to 120.38 in late trade, Hologic Inc (NASDAQ:HOLX) which lost 3.05% to settle at 76.00 and Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) which was down 3.04% to 307.81 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Very Good Food Company Inc (NASDAQ:VGFC) which rose 118.20% to 0.29, Genocea Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:GNCA) which was up 51.07% to settle at 0.09 and 36Kr Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:KRKR) which gained 42.47% to close at 1.04.

The worst performers were Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRCA) which was down 63.85% to 2.01 in late trade, China Liberal Education Holdings (NASDAQ:CLEU) which lost 38.80% to settle at 1.53 and Enochian Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ENOB) which was down 36.97% to 3.70 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2456 to 720 and 100 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2626 rose and 1157 declined, while 183 ended unchanged.

Shares in Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRCA) fell to all time lows; losing 63.85% or 3.55 to 2.01. Shares in Enochian Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ENOB) fell to 52-week lows; losing 36.97% or 2.17 to 3.70.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.67% to 28.37.

Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.69% or 12.87 to $1,852.53 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.91% or 1.00 to hit $110.77 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 0.66% or 0.73 to trade at $111.42 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.56% to 1.07, while USD/JPY rose 0.38% to 127.29.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.30% at 102.18.