Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Technology and Consumer Services sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.47% to hit a new 3-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.44%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.47%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which rose 1.86% or 1.40 points to trade at 76.78 at the close. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 1.75% or 1.88 points to end at 109.56 and McDonald`s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was up 1.50% or 1.86 points to 125.83 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which lost 1.76% or 2.30 points to trade at 128.58 in late trade. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) declined 0.62% or 0.92 points to end at 148.41 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) shed 0.51% or 0.31 points to 60.29.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) which rose 5.68% to 80.35, Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) which was up 5.50% to settle at 52.37 and MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) which gained 5.35% to close at 44.73.
The worst performers were Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which was down 3.75% to 7.70 in late trade, Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) which lost 3.62% to settle at 86.47 and Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) which was down 3.51% to 46.14 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were DragonWave Inc (NASDAQ:DRWI) which rose 38.93% to 3.3900, Staffing 360 Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:STAF) which was up 31.87% to settle at 3.376 and Transition Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TTHI) which gained 26.04% to close at 1.2100.
The worst performers were Quantum Fuel Systems Inc (NASDAQ:QTWW) which was down 38.28% to 0.1611 in late trade, Sky Solar Holdings Adr Rep 8 (NASDAQ:SKYS) which lost 35.26% to settle at 1.23 and NF Energy Saving Corporation (NASDAQ:NFEC) which was down 31.73% to 0.7100 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2089 to 1238 and 43 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1549 rose and 1035 declined, while 70 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.95% to 13.55 a new 6-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold for June delivery was down 0.82% or 10.10 to $1227.40 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.03% or 0.01 to hit $38.27 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.30% or 0.12 to trade at $39.97 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.35% to 1.1334, while USD/JPY fell 0.23% to 112.44.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.37% at 94.82.