At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.40%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.34%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.29%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which rose 2.32% or 1.18 points to trade at 52.12 at the close. Meanwhile, Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) added 2.07% or 4.59 points to end at 226.36 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was up 1.79% or 1.47 points to 83.52 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 2.93% or 1.45 points to trade at 48.11 at the close. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) declined 2.03% or 0.91 points to end at 43.86 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 1.37% or 3.05 points to 219.77.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) which rose 4.54% to 123.07, Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) which was up 4.19% to settle at 82.78 and Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN) which gained 4.15% to close at 363.90.
The worst performers were JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) which was down 9.60% to 181.51 in late trade, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) which lost 6.79% to settle at 265.84 and Old Dominion Freight Line Inc (NASDAQ:ODFL) which was down 6.76% to 278.50 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (NASDAQ:CSSE) which rose 43.80% to 11.49, Hudson Capital Inc (NASDAQ:HUSN) which was up 36.27% to settle at 2.63 and Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GREE) which gained 33.95% to close at 11.52.
The worst performers were Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc (NASDAQ:SLS) which was down 37.87% to 4.15 in late trade, Cyren Ltd (NASDAQ:CYRN) which lost 36.04% to settle at 3.23 and Pulse Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:PLSE) which was down 26.95% to 3.55 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2138 to 1044 and 108 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2214 rose and 1606 declined, while 195 ended unchanged.
Shares in Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) rose to all time highs; up 4.19% or 3.33 to 82.78. Shares in Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc (NASDAQ:SLS) fell to 52-week lows; down 37.87% or 2.53 to 4.15. Shares in Pulse Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:PLSE) fell to all time lows; losing 26.95% or 1.31 to 3.55.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.52% to 19.63.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 1.38% or 26.90 to $1,922.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 0.75% or 0.75 to hit $99.53 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract fell 0.12% or 0.13 to trade at $104.58 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.12% to 1.11, while USD/JPY rose 0.69% to 122.50.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.17% at 98.53.
