Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Consumer Services sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.10%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.34%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.74%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which rose 2.42% or 3.86 points to trade at 163.27 at the close. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) added 2.06% or 3.33 points to end at 164.66 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 1.59% or 1.36 points to 86.95 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON), which lost 2.71% or 5.01 points to trade at 179.97 in late trade. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) declined 2.44% or 2.94 points to end at 117.53 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) shed 1.67% or 0.80 points to 47.07.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Coterra Energy Inc (NYSE:CTRA) which rose 7.22% to 32.23, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) which was up 6.72% to settle at 41.74 and Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) which gained 6.17% to close at 139.40.
The worst performers were Nucor Corp (NYSE:NUE) which was down 11.31% to 120.71 in late trade, Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) which lost 6.79% to settle at 83.92 and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) which was down 6.27% to 17.18 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Avenue Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ATXI) which rose 53.87% to 0.36, Aileron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALRN) which was up 38.49% to settle at 0.27 and Dawson Geophysical Company (NASDAQ:DWSN) which gained 41.44% to close at 1.57.
The worst performers were Neurobo Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:NRBO) which was down 43.61% to 16.86 in late trade, Vintage Wine Estates Inc (NASDAQ:VWE) which lost 40.33% to settle at 3.30 and Aditx Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ADTX) which was down 38.22% to 11.43 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1569 to 1518 and 140 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1957 fell and 1768 advanced, while 255 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.07% to 26.16.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.64% or 10.95 to $1,706.45 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.71% or 1.49 to hit $88.80 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.26% or 1.17 to trade at $94.34 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.08% to 1.00, while USD/JPY fell 0.97% to 143.15.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.15% at 109.36.