Wall Street Rises As Dow, S&P 500 And Nasdaq Gain On Weak Jobs Data, Easing Fed Rate-Hike Concerns

US stocks closed higher on Friday as softer jobs data eased expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike. The Labour Department reported a 29,000 jobs increase in nonfarm payrolls, while employment figures for the previous two months were revised sharply lower. The latest increase was also well below the 90,000 forecast.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 250.40 points, or 0.49%, to 51,176.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) gained 56.27 points, or 0.73%, to 7,722.72, while the Nasdaq Composite added 319.27 points, or 1.19%, to 27,190.86.

The move kept global indices in focus as investors assessed the implications of the weaker employment data for monetary policy.

Mixed Economic Data Shift Expectations For An October Rate Hike

Recent economic data had already shown resilient activity alongside a slower-than-expected rise in prices. Comments from two senior policymakers cautioning against another increase had also contributed to lower expectations for an October rate hike during the week.

The employment report added to that shift by showing much weaker payroll growth than economists had anticipated.

Rate-Sensitive And Small-Cap Stocks Lead The Advance

The S&P 500 real estate index gained 0.4%, while the Russell 2000 rose 0.9% for its biggest daily gain in a month. The move came as expectations of an imminent rate increase moderated, benefiting rate-sensitive segments of the market.

Mega-cap stocks also supported US stocks. Nvidia rose 1.3%, while Tesla gained 4.7%. Tesla's advance helped lift the S&P 500 consumer discretionary index by 1.4%, making it the strongest-performing sector among the 11 major S&P sectors.

Weekly Performance Remains Mixed Despite Friday Gains

Friday's rise did not erase the broader weekly declines in the major benchmarks. The Dow and S&P 500 each recorded their fourth weekly fall in the past five weeks, while the Nasdaq posted a weekly gain for the fifth time in six weeks.

For the week, the S&P 500 declined 0.27%, the Nasdaq gained 0.45%, and the Dow fell 1.26%. Market breadth was positive on Friday, with advancing stocks outnumbering decliners by 1.67-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and 1.34-to-1 on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 recorded 11 new 52-week highs against 20 new lows. The Nasdaq Composite registered 57 new highs and 224 new lows. Trading volume across US exchanges stood at 16.93 billion shares, below the 17.28 billion average for the previous 20 trading sessions.

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