WASHINGTON: U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Financials, Oil & Gas and Industrials sectors led shares higher. At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.94%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.73%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.54%. The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which rose 4.59% or 3.78 points to trade at 86.08 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 4.57% or 10.54 points to end at 240.95 and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) was up 3.06% or 2.59 points to 87.18 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.83% or 0.44 points to trade at 52.36 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) declined 0.52% or 0.49 points to end at 93.28 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 0.40% or 0.35 points to 87.41.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Mettler-Toledo International Inc (NYSE:MTD) which rose 6.69% to 462.67, Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) which was up 6.41% to settle at 32.69 and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) which gained 5.46% to close at 44.43. The worst performers were Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE:HBI) which was down 16.42% to 18.98 in late trade, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) which lost 5.83% to settle at 15.83 and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) which was down 4.54% to 404.08 at the close. The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sevcon Inc (NASDAQ:SEV) which rose 48.46% to 13.51, Zais Group Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ZAIS) which was up 42.53% to settle at 2.480 and Cerulean Ph (NASDAQ:CERU) which gained 39.63% to close at 1.300. The worst performers were Power Solutions International Inc (NASDAQ:PSIX) which was down 62.42% to 2.80 in late trade, Benitec Biopharma Ltd (NASDAQ:BNTC) which lost 28.80% to settle at 2.6700 and Interpace Diagnostics Group Inc (NASDAQ:IDXG) which was down 26.85% to 3.1600 at the close. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2458 to 766 and 36 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1820 rose and 709 declined, while 97 ended unchanged.
Shares in Mettler-Toledo International Inc (NYSE:MTD) rose to all time highs; gaining 6.69% or 29.03 to 462.67. Shares in Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE:HBI) fell to 52-week lows; falling 16.42% or 3.73 to 18.98. Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) rose to 5-year highs; rising 5.46% or 2.30 to 44.43. Shares in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.59% or 3.78 to 86.08. Shares in Sevcon Inc (NASDAQ:SEV) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 48.46% or 4.41 to 13.51. Shares in Power Solutions International Inc (NASDAQ:PSIX) fell to all time lows; losing 62.42% or 4.65 to 2.80. The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 8.72% to 10.89. Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.14% or 1.65 to $1221.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 0.54% or 0.29 to hit $53.83 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.42% or 0.24 to trade at $56.80 a barrel. EUR/USD was up 0.21% to 1.0782, while USD/JPY fell 0.16% to 112.62. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.11% at 99.72.
