U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.01%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.01%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.12%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 2.03%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 3.74% or 6.59 points to trade at 182.87 at the close. Meanwhile, Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) added 2.60% or 3.99 points to end at 157.22 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 2.31% or 4.05 points to 179.59 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which fell 3.22% or 4.24 points to trade at 127.30 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 0.67% or 1.23 points to end at 183.71 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was up 0.05% or 0.08 points to 148.66.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which rose 10.62% to 18.95, Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which was up 8.23% to settle at 14.46 and Host Hotels & Resorts Inc (NASDAQ:HST) which gained 8.12% to close at 19.70.

The worst performers were AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) which was down 4.19% to 158.95 in late trade, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) which lost 3.22% to settle at 127.30 and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) which was down 2.85% to 105.17 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Kaleido Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KLDO) which rose 75.06% to 0.30, Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS) which was up 49.20% to settle at 5.58 and Veru Inc (NASDAQ:VERU) which gained 42.86% to close at 14.30.

The worst performers were NanoString Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:NSTG) which was down 33.63% to 21.87 in late trade, Polarityte Inc (NASDAQ:PTE) which lost 30.84% to settle at 0.27 and Crown Electrokinetics Corp. (NASDAQ:CRKN) which was down 19.63% to 1.31 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2440 to 761 and 107 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2910 rose and 988 declined, while 173 ended unchanged.

Shares in JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) fell to 52-week lows; down 3.22% or 4.24 to 127.30. Shares in JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) fell to 52-week lows; down 3.22% or 4.24 to 127.30. Shares in NanoString Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:NSTG) fell to 52-week lows; falling 33.63% or 11.08 to 21.87. Shares in Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS) rose to 5-year highs; up 49.20% or 1.84 to 5.58. Shares in Veru Inc (NASDAQ:VERU) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 42.86% or 4.29 to 14.30. Shares in Crown Electrokinetics Corp. (NASDAQ:CRKN) fell to all time lows; losing 19.63% or 0.32 to 1.31.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 10.06% to 21.82.

Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.10% or 1.90 to $1,978.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 3.72% or 3.74 to hit $104.34 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 4.09% or 4.28 to trade at $108.92 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.58% to 1.09, while USD/JPY rose 0.24% to 125.64.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.39% at 99.90.