NEW YORK, April 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, as traders welcomed a jobs report that exceeded expectations and looked through the rise in interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307.06 points, or 0.80 percent, to 38,904.04. The S&P 500 added 57.13 points, or 1.11 percent, to 5,204.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 199.44 points, or 1.24 percent, to 16,248.52. Despite Friday's rebound, all three indexes still ended for a losing week.
All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with communication services and industrials leading the gainers by adding 1.61 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively. Consumer staples posted the weakest growth, up by 0.22 percent.
In March, U.S. job growth significantly exceeded expectations, and wages continued to rise steadily, indicating a robust end to the first quarter for the economy. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 303,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. The economy added 22,000 more jobs than previously estimated in January and February.
The Labor Department's influential employment report also showed a drop in the unemployment rate from 3.9 percent in February to 3.8 percent in March. This decline was fueled by a notable increase in household employment, which surpassed the addition of 469,000 people to the labor force. This performance may delay anticipated interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year.
"While the favorable supply-side developments are consistent with Powell's benign view of the outlook, the apparent absence of any cracks developing on the demand side should lessen the urgency to ease policy, and we are pushing back our call for the first Fed cut from June to July," said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan.
U.S. Treasury yields jumped up after the report, with the 10-year yield climbing from Thursday's closing of 4.317 percent to settle at 4.406 percent, reaching their highest late-day point since November. ■
