U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.04%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Healthcare and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.04%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.32%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.14%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH), which rose 3.91% or 10.24 points to trade at 271.81 at the close. Meanwhile, Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) added 3.07% or 2.30 points to end at 77.20 and Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW) was up 3.00% or 10.74 points to 368.83 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which fell 2.53% or 2.62 points to trade at 101.00 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 1.64% or 8.68 points to end at 520.56 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was down 1.42% or 1.01 points to 70.36.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PSKY) which rose 36.74% to 15.00, Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) which was up 7.40% to settle at 12.05 and FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) which gained 6.80% to close at 37.54.

The worst performers were Jabil Circuit Inc (NYSE:JBL) which was down 4.88% to 219.08 in late trade, Kroger Company (NYSE:KR) which lost 4.38% to settle at 70.33 and GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) which was down 3.85% to 268.86 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Bolt Projects Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BSLK) which rose 542.20% to 14.00, Webtoon Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:WBTN) which was up 80.88% to settle at 16.93 and Momentus Inc (NASDAQ:MNTS) which gained 72.07% to close at 1.91.

The worst performers were Cre8 Enterprise Ltd (NASDAQ:CRE) which was down 78.59% to 1.49 in late trade, Color Star Technology Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ADD) which lost 68.21% to settle at 0.18 and Masterbeef Group (NASDAQ:MB) which was down 45.22% to 7.67 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2137 to 618 and 74 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2359 rose and 969 declined, while 147 ended unchanged.

Shares in Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PSKY) rose to 52-week highs; up 36.74% or 4.03 to 15.00. Shares in Cre8 Enterprise Ltd (NASDAQ:CRE) fell to all time lows; down 78.59% or 5.47 to 1.49. Shares in Webtoon Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:WBTN) rose to 52-week highs; up 80.88% or 7.57 to 16.93. Shares in Color Star Technology Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ADD) fell to all time lows; falling 68.21% or 0.38 to 0.18.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.70% to 14.48 a new 6-months low.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.25% or 8.42 to $3,407.42 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.70% or 0.44 to hit $62.73 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 0.56% or 0.37 to trade at $65.75 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.27% to 1.17, while USD/JPY fell 0.28% to 147.36.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.31% at 97.63.