Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Technology, Healthcare and Financials sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.90% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.10%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 2.27%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Microsoft Corporation (O:MSFT), which rose 10.41% or 5.00 points to trade at 53.03 at the close. Apple Inc (O:AAPL) added 3.10% or 3.58 points to end at 119.08 and Procter & Gamble Company (N:PG) was up 2.91% or 2.18 points to 77.03 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Nike Inc (N:NKE), which lost 1.42% or 1.88 points to trade at 130.53 in late trade. Coca-Cola Company (N:KO) declined 1.04% or 0.45 points to end at 42.79 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT) shed 1.02% or 0.60 points to 58.30.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Mallinckrodt (N:MNK) which rose 12.18% to 65.75, Microsoft Corporation (O:MSFT) which was up 10.41% to settle at 53.03 and Endo International PLC (O:ENDP) which gained 9.99% to close at 56.60.
The worst performers were Stericycle Inc (O:SRCL) which was down 19.28% to 120.31 in late trade, VF Corporation (N:VFC) which lost 12.92% to settle at 63.75 and Whirlpool Corporation (N:WHR) which was down 8.70% to 145.90 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Reading International B Inc (O:RDIB) which rose 37.67% to 15.350, Horizon Pharma PLC (O:HZNP) which was up 30.03% to settle at 17.06 and NETGEAR Inc (O:NTGR) which gained 27.98% to close at 41.85.
The worst performers were Ocular Therapeutix Inc (O:OCUL) which was down 52.32% to 7.18 in late trade, Westmoreland Coal Company (O:WLB) which lost 30.36% to settle at 8.58 and Mid-Con Energy Partners LP (O:MCEP) which was down 26.42% to 2.20 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1494 to 1040 and 1 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1693 rose and 861 declined, while 51 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.07% to 14.44 a new 1-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold for December delivery was down 0.14% or 1.60 to $1164.50 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 1.65% or 0.75 to hit $44.63 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract fell 0.25% or 0.12 to trade at $47.96 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.82% to 1.1014, while USD/JPY rose 0.58% to 121.39.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.79% at 97.19.