U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.63%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Technology, Utilities and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.94%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.50%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which rose 2.82% or 4.73 points to trade at 172.72 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 2.43% or 11.37 points to end at 479.78 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 1.79% or 2.86 points to 162.60 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM), which fell 3.06% or 7.11 points to trade at 225.01 at the close. Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) declined 1.29% or 1.87 points to end at 142.62 and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) was down 0.80% or 1.21 points to 149.94.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) which rose 7.52% to 2960.00, Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG) which was up 7.37% to settle at 2960.73 and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) which gained 6.25% to close at 188.20.

The worst performers were PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) which was down 24.59% to 132.57 in late trade, CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) which lost 11.50% to settle at 92.54 and Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) which was down 9.28% to 138.04 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were MDJM Ltd (NASDAQ:MDJH) which rose 35.56% to 2.440, GWG Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GWGH) which was up 31.58% to settle at 4.500 and Helbiz Inc (NASDAQ:HLBZ) which gained 24.84% to close at 3.82.

The worst performers were LogicBio Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LOGC) which was down 54.83% to 0.677 in late trade, Redbox Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:RDBX) which lost 52.16% to settle at 2.550 and Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ELMS) which was down 51.52% to 2.710 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1774 to 1482 and 102 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2635 fell and 1210 advanced, while 184 ended unchanged.

Shares in PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) fell to 52-week lows; falling 24.59% or 43.23 to 132.57. Shares in Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) fell to 52-week lows; down 9.28% or 14.12 to 138.04. Shares in The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) rose to all time highs; gaining 2.82% or 4.73 to 172.72. Shares in LogicBio Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LOGC) fell to all time lows; losing 54.83% or 0.822 to 0.677. Shares in Redbox Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:RDBX) fell to all time lows; down 52.16% or 2.780 to 2.550. Shares in Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ELMS) fell to all time lows; down 51.52% or 2.880 to 2.710.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.59% to 22.09.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.31% or 5.65 to $1807.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 0.23% or 0.20 to hit $88.00 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.01% or 0.01 to trade at $89.32 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.01% to 1.1304, while USD/JPY fell 0.01% to 114.43.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.41% at 95.980.