U.S. shares higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.56%

© Reuters U.S. shares higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.56%

Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Technology and Industrials sectors propelled shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.56% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 1.71%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.73%.

The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), which rose 7.43% or 3.51 points to trade at 50.77 at the close. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 4.17% or 16.81 points to end at 420.36 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was up 3.22% or 1.83 points to 58.74 in late trade.

Biggest losers included Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which lost 1.96% or 4.34 points to trade at 217.44 in late trade. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 0.79% or 0.62 points to end at 78.33 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) gained 0.19% or 0.30 points to 156.69.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) which rose 7.43% to 50.77, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) which was up 6.54% to settle at 26.22 and Affiliated Managers Group Inc (NYSE:AMG) which gained 4.56% to close at 158.86.

The worst performers were U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) which was down 2.25% to 60.08 in late trade, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) which lost 1.96% to settle at 217.44 and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) which was down 1.61% to 45.31 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Grove Inc (NASDAQ:GRVI) which rose 39.32% to 6.98, NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:NRXP) which was up 26.17% to settle at 11.91 and Broadwind Energy Inc (NASDAQ:BWEN) which gained 25.82% to close at 3.460.

The worst performers were Teligent Inc (NASDAQ:TLGT) which was down 39.56% to 0.2014 in late trade, Up Fintech Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:TIGR) which lost 21.19% to settle at 8.18 and Waitr Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:WTRH) which was down 18.90% to 1.0300 at the close.

Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2476 to 747 and 138 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2299 rose and 1298 declined, while 180 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 9.55% to 16.86 a new 1-month low.

In commodities trading, Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.20% or 3.55 to $1798.25 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.36% or 1.09 to hit $81.53 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 1.32% or 1.10 to trade at $84.28 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.06% to 1.1599, while USD/JPY rose 0.40% to 113.68.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.11% at 93.972.