U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.86%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.86%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.45%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 2.08%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which rose 3.33% or 4.75 points to trade at 147.23 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 2.25% or 1.10 points to end at 49.91 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 2.18% or 6.65 points to 311.21 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), which fell 1.58% or 3.82 points to trade at 237.19 at the close. Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) declined 1.55% or 0.96 points to end at 61.04 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 0.49% or 0.38 points to 76.53.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE:OMC) which rose 14.19% to 90.12, Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which was up 12.03% to settle at 161.89 and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) which gained 10.16% to close at 1608.74.

The worst performers were CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) which was down 5.45% to 104.79 in late trade, Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) which lost 2.55% to settle at 68.28 and CDW Corp (NASDAQ:CDW) which was down 2.46% to 189.96 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) which rose 67.73% to 47.25, Tritium Dcfc Ltd (NASDAQ:DCFC) which was up 64.57% to settle at 15.70 and Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GRCL) which gained 34.10% to close at 4.09.

The worst performers were Zosano Pharma Corp (NASDAQ:ZSAN) which was down 48.56% to 0.2431 in late trade, QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST) which lost 26.85% to settle at 11.39 and Society Pass Inc (NASDAQ:SOPA) which was down 23.72% to 3.57 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2389 to 823 and 141 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2743 rose and 1103 declined, while 178 ended unchanged.

Shares in Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE:OMC) rose to all time highs; gaining 14.19% or 11.20 to 90.12. Shares in US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) rose to 52-week highs; rising 67.73% or 19.08 to 47.25. Shares in Zosano Pharma Corp (NASDAQ:ZSAN) fell to all time lows; falling 48.56% or 0.2295 to 0.2431. Shares in Tritium Dcfc Ltd (NASDAQ:DCFC) rose to all time highs; rising 64.57% or 6.16 to 15.70. Shares in QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST) fell to 52-week lows; down 26.85% or 4.18 to 11.39.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.90% to 19.96.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.34% or 6.20 to $1834.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 0.72% or 0.64 to hit $90.00 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.20% or 0.18 to trade at $91.81 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.03% to 1.1425, while USD/JPY rose 0.03% to 115.53.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.09% at 95.555.