Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Healthcare, Financials and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.95%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.07%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.93%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), which rose 3.15% or 3.55 points to trade at 116.26 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (N:MRK) added 2.94% or 1.56 points to end at 54.57 and Pfizer Inc (N:PFE) was up 2.59% or 0.85 points to 33.62 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT), which fell 1.50% or 1.09 points to trade at 71.56 at the close. Apple Inc (O:AAPL) declined 0.81% or 0.96 points to end at 117.34 and EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (N:DD) was down 0.09% or 0.06 points to 67.28.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were CONSOL Energy Inc (N:CNX) which rose 9.77% to 8.65, Wynn Resorts Limited (O:WYNN) which was up 6.44% to settle at 66.81 and Eli Lilly and Company (N:LLY) which gained 5.44% to close at 86.50.
The worst performers were Cummins Inc (N:CMI) which was down 7.93% to 92.41 in late trade, Kinder Morgan Inc (N:KMI) which lost 4.88% to settle at 22.42 and CF Industries Holdings Inc (N:CF) which was down 2.47% to 45.00 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Giga-tronics Incorporated (O:GIGA) which rose 132.43% to 2.580, Cleantech Solutions International (O:CLNT) which was up 80.00% to settle at 1.980 and Dehaier Medical Systems Ltd (O:DHRM) which gained 78.82% to close at 3.040.
The worst performers were Repros Therapeutics Inc (O:RPRX) which was down 27.35% to 1.74 in late trade, SMART Technologies Inc (O:SMT) which lost 24.93% to settle at 0.283 and BreitBurn Energy Partners LP (O:BBEP) which was down 20.50% to 1.59 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2380 to 1062 and 8 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1476 rose and 1141 declined, while 74 ended unchanged.
Shares in Cummins Inc (N:CMI) fell to 3-years lows; losing 7.93% or 7.96 to 92.41. Shares in Kinder Morgan Inc (N:KMI) fell to all time lows; falling 4.88% or 1.15 to 22.42. Shares in SMART Technologies Inc (O:SMT) fell to all time lows; falling 24.93% or 0.094 to 0.283. Shares in BreitBurn Energy Partners LP (O:BBEP) fell to all time lows; falling 20.50% or 0.41 to 1.59.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 9.05% to 14.67.
Gold for February delivery was up 0.29% or 3.10 to $1068.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.40% or 0.17 to hit $41.81 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 0.40% or 0.18 to trade at $44.43 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.56% to 1.0625, while USD/JPY fell 0.17% to 122.90.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.39% at 99.88.