Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Services, Basic Materials and Technology sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.33% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.40%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.71%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which rose 2.52% or 3.52 points to trade at 143.01 at the close. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) added 1.33% or 3.39 points to end at 258.46 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.00% or 1.33 points to 134.74 in late trade.
Biggest losers included UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which lost 1.23% or 6.10 points to trade at 489.57 in late trade. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) declined 0.59% or 0.18 points to end at 30.11 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) shed 0.41% or 0.41 points to 99.40.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which rose 3.80% to 201.11, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) which was up 3.25% to settle at 44.22 and Stanley Black & Decker Inc (NYSE:SWK) which gained 3.06% to close at 88.91.
The worst performers were Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) which was down 5.44% to 461.43 in late trade, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) which lost 5.29% to settle at 12.72 and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) which was down 4.75% to 36.51 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were iPower Inc (NASDAQ:IPW) which rose 50.42% to 0.77, Moxian Inc (NASDAQ:MOXC) which was up 45.21% to settle at 1.51 and SmileDirectClub Inc (NASDAQ:SDC) which gained 46.77% to close at 0.70.
The worst performers were Catalyst Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CBIO) which was down 32.69% to 0.26 in late trade, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) which lost 30.15% to settle at 3.66 and AGBA Acquisition Ltd (NASDAQ:AGBA) which was down 21.52% to 4.12 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1850 to 1176 and 121 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2334 rose and 1316 declined, while 219 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.55% to 18.35 a new 52-week low.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for February delivery was up 1.26% or 23.85 to $1,922.65 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 2.03% or 1.59 to hit $79.98 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.64% or 1.38 to trade at $85.41 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.11% to 1.08, while USD/JPY fell 1.07% to 127.83.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 101.89.