Stocks closed sharply higher on Wall Street, erasing their losses for the week, after the government reported a cooldown in hiring last month.
For markets that was a welcome sign that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to fight inflation by slowing the economy with high interest rates might be making some progress. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent Friday, its biggest gain since February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2 percent. and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2 percent.
U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs last month, down sharply from a big increase in March. Apple jumped after announcing a mammoth $110 billion stock buyback.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 rose 63.59 points, or 1.3 percent, to 5,127.79.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 450.02 points, or 1.2 percent, to 38,675.68.
The Nasdaq composite rose 315.37 points, or 2 percent, to 16,156.33.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 19.61 points, or 1 percent, to 2,035.72.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 27.83 points, or 0.5 percent.
The Dow is up 436.02 points, or 1.1 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 228.43 points, or 1.4 percent.
The Russell 2000 is up 33.72 points, or 1.7 percent.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 357.96 points, or 7.5 percent.
The Dow is up 986.14 points, or 2.6 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 1,144.98 points, or 7.6 percent.
The Russell 2000 is up 8.65 points, or 0.4 percent.
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