U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.33% By

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the added 0.33% to hit a new 1-month high, while the index climbed 0.40%, and the index gained 0.71%.

The best performers of the session on the were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:), which rose 2.47% or 3.45 points to trade at 142.94 at the close. Meanwhile, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:) added 1.36% or 3.46 points to end at 258.53 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) was up 1.00% or 1.33 points to 134.74 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:), which fell 1.25% or 6.18 points to trade at 489.49 at the close. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:) declined 0.59% or 0.18 points to end at 30.11 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:) was down 0.40% or 0.40 points to 99.42.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:) which rose 3.80% to 201.11, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:) which was up 3.25% to settle at 44.22 and Stanley Black & Decker Inc (NYSE:) which gained 3.06% to close at 88.91.

The worst performers were Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:) which was down 5.42% to 461.55 in late trade, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:) which lost 5.29% to settle at 12.72 and General Motors Company (NYSE:) which was down 4.77% to 36.50 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were iPower Inc (NASDAQ:) which rose 51.45% to 0.76, Moxian Inc (NASDAQ:) which was up 47.52% to settle at 1.49 and SmileDirectClub Inc (NASDAQ:) which gained 46.77% to close at 0.70.

The worst performers were Catalyst Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:) which was down 32.69% to 0.26 in late trade, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:) which lost 30.15% to settle at 3.66 and AGBA Acquisition Ltd (NASDAQ:) which was down 21.52% to 4.12 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1828 to 1167 and 103 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2351 rose and 1326 declined, while 148 ended unchanged.

Shares in Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:) rose to all time highs; up 1.36% or 3.46 to 258.53. Shares in Catalyst Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:) fell to 5-year lows; falling 32.69% or 0.13 to 0.26.

The , which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.55% to 18.35 a new 52-week low.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 1.25% or 23.70 to $1,922.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, 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 0.12% to 1.08, while USD/JPY fell 1.06% to 127.85.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 101.90.