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

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.78% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.70%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.52%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Unitedhealth Group (NYSE: UNH ), which rose 6.40% or 17.56 points to trade at 291.91 at the close. Meanwhile, 3M Company (NYSE: MMM ) added 2.94% or 4.37 points to end at 153.11 and Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT ) was up 1.97% or 1.90 points to 98.25 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO ), which fell 1.00% or 0.64 points to trade at 63.62 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE: BA ) declined 0.20% or 0.42 points to end at 205.82 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL ) was down 0.12% or 0.26 points to 211.19.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Unitedhealth Group (NYSE: UNH ) which rose 6.40% to 291.91, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA ) which was up 5.10% to settle at 24.86 and Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ: SMCI ) which gained 4.98% to close at 46.15.

The worst performers were Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT ) which was down 5.25% to 165.57 in late trade, First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR ) which lost 4.14% to settle at 178.48 and Hershey Co (NYSE: HSY ) which was down 3.18% to 158.49 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Affimed NV (NASDAQ: AFMD ) which rose 223.27% to 0.28, Inozyme Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: INZY ) which was up 178.17% to settle at 3.95 and DeFi Development Corp (NASDAQ: DFDV ) which gained 74.45% to close at 156.99.

The worst performers were Healthcare Triangle Inc (NASDAQ: HCTI ) which was down 78.99% to 0.01 in late trade, Lianhe Sowell Int Group (NASDAQ: LHSW ) which lost 54.05% to settle at 1.36 and Click Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: CLIK ) which was down 32.56% to 0.48 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1849 to 906 and 90 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2037 rose and 1292 declined, while 118 ended unchanged.

Shares in Healthcare Triangle Inc (NASDAQ: HCTI ) fell to all time lows; losing 78.99% or 0.03 to 0.01. Shares in Lianhe Sowell Int Group (NASDAQ: LHSW ) fell to all time lows; losing 54.05% or 1.60 to 1.36. Shares in DeFi Development Corp (NASDAQ: DFDV ) rose to all time highs; up 74.45% or 67.00 to 156.99.

The CBOE Volatility Index , which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.31% to 17.24 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.85% or 27.36 to $3,199.24 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 1.20% or 0.74 to hit $62.36 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 1.13% or 0.73 to trade at $65.26 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.32% to 1.11, while USD/JPY rose 0.19% to 145.94.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.22% at 100.95.