U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.61%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.61%, while the S&P 500 index added 1.99%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 2.68%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 4.65% or 5.67 points to trade at 127.73 at the close. Meanwhile, Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) added 4.38% or 4.74 points to end at 112.94 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 3.15% or 9.24 points to 302.81 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 1.54% or 1.44 points to trade at 92.31 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) declined 0.49% or 0.25 points to end at 50.99 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was down 0.09% or 0.16 points to 179.46.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) which rose 21.87% to 162.80, DXC Technology Co (NYSE:DXC) which was up 15.99% to settle at 34.16 and Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) which gained 13.71% to close at 222.13.

The worst performers were Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) which was down 6.10% to 37.07 in late trade, Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) which lost 5.78% to settle at 99.44 and Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) which was down 4.01% to 81.89 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Creatd Inc (NASDAQ:CRTD) which rose 58.46% to 1.28, Apyx Medical Inc (NASDAQ:APYX) which was up 51.89% to settle at 5.62 and Scisparc Ltd (NASDAQ:SPRC) which gained 41.10% to close at 3.33.

The worst performers were Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:AVDL) which was down 68.34% to 1.07 in late trade, NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:NRXP) which lost 58.19% to settle at 0.58 and OTR Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:CMRA) which was down 36.64% to 3.39 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2629 to 553 and 94 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2844 rose and 1004 declined, while 182 ended unchanged.

Shares in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) fell to 52-week lows; down 5.78% or 6.10 to 99.44. Shares in Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:AVDL) fell to 5-year lows; losing 68.34% or 2.31 to 1.07. Shares in NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:NRXP) fell to all time lows; falling 58.19% or 0.80 to 0.58. Shares in OTR Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:CMRA) fell to all time lows; down 36.64% or 1.96 to 3.39.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.07% to 27.50.

Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.18% or 3.40 to $1,849.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 3.35% or 3.70 to hit $114.03 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 2.78% or 3.09 to trade at $114.21 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.46% to 1.07, while USD/JPY fell 0.20% to 127.06.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.28% at 101.79.