LONDON: U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Healthcare, Financials and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.28% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.49%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.82%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:JPM), which rose 3.17% or 1.90 points to trade at 61.89 at the close. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc (N:PFE) added 3.15% or 1.04 points to end at 34.08 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (N:GS) was up 3.04% or 5.45 points to 184.96 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), which fell 1.56% or 1.90 points to trade at 120.17 at the close. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT) declined 1.17% or 0.70 points to end at 59.33 and Intel Corporation (O:INTC) was down 0.18% or 0.06 points to 32.74.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Baxalta Inc (N:BXLT) which rose 7.54% to 33.37, Genworth Financial Inc (N:GNW) which was up 5.78% to settle at 5.49 and Southwestern Energy Company (N:SWN) which gained 5.66% to close at 13.26.
The worst performers were Seagate Technology PLC (O:STX) which was down 13.39% to 41.40 in late trade, Garmin Ltd (O:GRMN) which lost 12.66% to settle at 32.28 and Netflix Inc (O:NFLX) which was down 8.29% to 101.09 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Five Prm Th (O:FPRX) which rose 65.17% to 27.93, Affimed NV (O:AFMD) which was up 24.27% to settle at 7.63 and Assembly Biosciences Inc (O:ASMB) which gained 21.95% to close at 11.39.
The worst performers were KBS Fashion Group Ltd (O:KBSF) which was down 18.98% to 3.67 in late trade, The9 Limited (O:NCTY) which lost 18.18% to settle at 0.90 and Acasti Pharma Inc (O:ACST) which was down 15.15% to 2.800 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2074 to 457 and 4 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2143 rose and 430 declined, while 34 ended unchanged.
Shares in Seagate Technology PLC (O:STX) fell to 52-week lows; falling 13.39% or 6.40 to 41.40. Shares in Garmin Ltd (O:GRMN) fell to 3-years lows; losing 12.66% or 4.68 to 32.28. Shares in Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT) fell to 3-years lows; falling 1.17% or 0.70 to 59.33. Shares in The9 Limited (O:NCTY) fell to all time lows; down 18.18% or 0.20 to 0.90. Shares in Acasti Pharma Inc (O:ACST) fell to 52-week highs; down 15.15% or 0.500 to 2.800.
