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The NASDAQ was higher on Friday as quarterly results from technology companies including Facebook-parent Meta buoyed the sector after a stronger-than expected jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials came out of the shadows to gain 69.93 points to 38,589.77.
The S&P 500 index moved higher 47.35 points to 4,953,54.
The NASDAQ index popped 235.06 points to 15,477.65.
Shares of Meta popped above 20% after the social-media giant defied analysts’ expectations. The Facebook-parent also announced it will pay a quarterly dividend for the first time, and it authorized a $50-billion share buyback program. Amazon shares jumped 7% on fourth-quarter beats. However, Apple slid 1% after the company posted a decline in sales in China during the fiscal first quarter.
The rise in tech stocks helped shift investor focus from a scorching jobs report earlier on Friday. The government reported the U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, well above the Dow Jones estimate of 185,000.
The moves follow a rebound session on Wall Street. The major averages gained around 1% each, a day after selling off on the back of the Federal Reserve signaling that a March rate cut was unlikely.
The report also included inflationary data in the form of greater-than-expected wage growth. Wages expanded by 4.5% year over year, more than a 4.1% forecast. This comes after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled this week that a March rate cut was unlikely.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, hiking yields to 4.05% from Thursday’s 3.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.44 to $72.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices handed back $19.00 to $2,052.10.
