FX.co ★ US stock market closes higher, Dow Jones gains 1.23%

At the close of the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones was up 1.23%, the S&P 500 was up 1.23% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 1.33%.

Dow Inc was the top performer among the components of the Dow Jones index today, up 3.21 points (5.38%) to close at 62.85. Quotes of American Express Company rose by 6.37 points (3.53%), closing the session at 186.98. Caterpillar Inc rose 5.58 points or 2.58% to close at 221.66.

Shares of McDonald's Corporation led the decline, losing 0.67 points (0.28%) to end the session at 237.47. Verizon Communications Inc was up 0.13 points (0.25%) to close at 52.36, while Walmart Inc was up 0.12 points (0.08%) to close at 144. 91.

Leading gainers among the S&P 500 index components in today's trading were Devon Energy Corporation, which rose 9.65% to hit 57.52, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, which gained 9.45% to close at 58.00, and also shares of APA Corporation, which rose 7.00% to close the session at 39.43.

The biggest losers were SolarEdge Technologies Inc, which shed 5.85% to close at 314.60. Shares of HP Inc lost 3.71% and ended the session at 34.48. Quotes of Advanced Micro Devices Inc decreased in price by 3.19% to 111.69.

Leading gainers among the components of the NASDAQ Composite in today's trading were Kidpik Corp , which rose 158.15% to hit 4.75, Cuentas Inc, which gained 54.55% to close at 1.70, and Marrone Bio Innovations Inc, which rose 49.70% to end the session at 1.05.

The biggest losers were MDJM Ltd, which shed 25.36% to close at 2.06. Shares of Akanda Corp lost 19.26% to end the session at 8.89. Quotes of Apptech Corp decreased in price by 16.00% to 1.05.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the number of securities that rose in price (2544) exceeded the number of those that closed in the red (665), while quotes of 81 shares remained virtually unchanged. On the NASDAQ stock exchange, 2910 companies rose in price, 947 fell, and 128 remained at the level of the previous close.

Shares in Akanda Corp fell to all-time lows, falling 19.26% or 2.12 points to end at 8.89.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which is based on S&P 500 options trading, fell 3.75% to 25.67.

Gold futures for April delivery added 1.51%, or 28.80, to hit $1.00 a troy ounce. In other commodities, WTI crude for April delivery rose 8.64% to $103.25 a barrel. Futures for Brent crude for May delivery rose 8.81% to $106.66 a barrel.

Meanwhile, in the Forex market, EUR/USD rose 0.57% to hit 1.11, while USD/JPY shed 0.05% to hit 118.67.

Futures on the USD index fell 0.61% to 98.01.