Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Technology sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.22%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.91%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.00%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), which rose 4.32% or 7.10 points to trade at 171.47 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 3.44% or 7.47 points to end at 224.61 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 2.43% or 8.41 points to 354.09 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), which fell 0.80% or 0.47 points to trade at 58.63 at the close. Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declined 0.34% or 0.43 points to end at 124.19 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 0.26% or 0.73 points to 280.19.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) which rose 11.09% to 262.20, Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) which was up 7.59% to settle at 19.99 and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) which gained 6.02% to close at 113.89.
The worst performers were Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) which was down 3.92% to 63.55 in late trade, DR Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI) which lost 2.80% to settle at 54.20 and Cooper Companies Inc (NYSE:COO) which was down 1.81% to 307.19 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were KLX Energy Services Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:KLXE) which rose 30.73% to 5.53, Wellesley Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:WEBK) which was up 28.59% to settle at 42.100 and Cancer Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:CGIX) which gained 26.86% to close at 6.990.
The worst performers were Correvio Pharma Corp (NASDAQ:CORV) which was down 39.81% to 1.300 in late trade, Taronis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:TRNX) which lost 21.94% to settle at 1.210 and Axcella Health Inc (NASDAQ:AXLA) which was down 20.04% to 3.59 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2102 to 730 and 76 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1831 rose and 826 declined, while 82 ended unchanged.
Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 3.44% or 7.47 to 224.61. Shares in Correvio Pharma Corp (NASDAQ:CORV) fell to 52-week lows; falling 39.81% or 0.860 to 1.300. Shares in Wellesley Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:WEBK) rose to all time highs; rising 28.59% or 9.360 to 42.100.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.20% to 13.62.
Gold Futures for February delivery was down 1.25% or 18.55 to 64.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 1.20% or 0.70 to hit .13 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 1.55% or 0.98 to trade at .37 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.39% to 1.1059, while USD/JPY fell 0.15% to 108.58.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.28% at 97.643.
