U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.85%

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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.85%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 2.47%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 3.06%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM), which rose 6.33% or 11.06 points to trade at 185.74 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 4.94% or 4.17 points to end at 88.58 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was up 4.79% or 5.81 points to 127.05 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), which fell 4.28% or 10.66 points to trade at 238.13 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 0.71% or 1.52 points to end at 212.44 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was down 0.16% or 0.24 points to 154.22.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) which rose 17.59% to 205.73, PTC Inc (NASDAQ:PTC) which was up 17.18% to settle at 114.39 and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) which gained 11.48% to close at 92.09.

The worst performers were Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) which was down 15.47% to 304.66 in late trade, O’Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:ORLY) which lost 12.62% to settle at 623.28 and Stanley Black & Decker Inc (NYSE:SWK) which was down 8.63% to 127.13 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were T Stamp Inc (NASDAQ:IDAI) which rose 123.81% to 4.70, Statera Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:STAB) which was up 81.87% to settle at 0.38 and Swvl Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SWVL) which gained 50.15% to close at 10.09.

The worst performers were Sio Gene Therapies Inc (NASDAQ:SIOX) which was down 48.57% to 0.31 in late trade, BIOLASE Inc (NASDAQ:BIOL) which lost 34.20% to settle at 0.20 and Limelight Networks Inc (NASDAQ:LLNW) which was down 25.06% to 3.38 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2483 to 688 and 128 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2503 rose and 1358 declined, while 225 ended unchanged.

Shares in Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) fell to 52-week lows; falling 15.47% or 55.77 to 304.66. Shares in Stanley Black & Decker Inc (NYSE:SWK) fell to 52-week lows; down 8.63% or 12.01 to 127.13. Shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) fell to 52-week lows; down 0.16% or 0.24 to 154.22. Shares in Sio Gene Therapies Inc (NASDAQ:SIOX) fell to all time lows; down 48.57% or 0.29 to 0.31. Shares in BIOLASE Inc (NASDAQ:BIOL) fell to all time lows; losing 34.20% or 0.10 to 0.20. Shares in Swvl Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SWVL) rose to all time highs; up 50.15% or 3.37 to 10.09.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.09% to 29.99.

Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.41% or 7.75 to $1,896.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 3.22% or 3.28 to hit $105.30 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 2.28% or 2.39 to trade at $107.34 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.47% to 1.05, while USD/JPY rose 1.87% to 130.82.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.68% at 103.66.