U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.02%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.02%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.43%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.93%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 6.94% or 3.35 points to trade at 51.62 at the close. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 2.27% or 3.86 points to end at 174.07 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 2.06% or 10.38 points to 513.61 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.68% or 0.91 points to trade at 132.09 at the close. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) declined 0.40% or 1.28 points to end at 315.77 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 0.02% or 0.04 points to 222.13.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which rose 9.82% to 281.50, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) which was up 6.94% to settle at 51.62 and Monolithic Power Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MPWR) which gained 6.66% to close at 494.62.

The worst performers were EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM) which was down 6.13% to 287.84 in late trade, Nielsen Holdings PLC (NYSE:NLSN) which lost 3.79% to settle at 22.35 and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) which was down 3.53% to 57.73 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INM) which rose 43.05% to 1.08, Global Internet of People Inc (NASDAQ:SDH) which was up 38.35% to settle at 1.84 and AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd (NASDAQ:AGRI) which gained 34.89% to close at 4.91.

The worst performers were LiqTech International Inc (NASDAQ:LIQT) which was down 36.32% to 2.98 in late trade, Vicinity Motor Corp (NASDAQ:VEV) which lost 25.98% to settle at 2.45 and Volcon Inc (NASDAQ:VLCN) which was down 17.87% to 2.16 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2071 to 1102 and 120 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2576 rose and 1290 declined, while 162 ended unchanged.

Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; gaining 2.06% or 10.38 to 513.61. Shares in LiqTech International Inc (NASDAQ:LIQT) fell to 52-week lows; down 36.32% or 1.70 to 2.98. Shares in Vicinity Motor Corp (NASDAQ:VEV) fell to 52-week lows; down 25.98% or 0.86 to 2.45.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 8.06% to 21.67 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.26% or 24.45 to $1,961.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 3.04% or 3.49 to hit $111.44 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 2.95% or 3.59 to trade at $118.01 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.05% to 1.10, while USD/JPY rose 0.96% to 122.32.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.18% at 98.79.