Stocks rose to record levels on Friday despite a weaker-than-expected jobs report for April, as investors dismissed the report and bet the Federal Reserve will keep its monetary policy loose to support the economy. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 notched fresh closing highs, while the Nasdaq outperformed with a 0.88% gain.
For the week, the Dow rose 2.7% to break its two-week losing streak, while the S&P 500 gained 1.2% and the Nasdaq declined 1.5%.
U.S. employers added just 266,000 jobs in April, dramatically missing expectations for a rise of 1 million, according to the Labor Department's April jobs report. The unemployment rate increased to 6.1% in April from 6.0% in March, also missing expectations for a 5.8% drop. March's payroll gain was also revised lower, now showing a rise of 770,000 versus the 916,000 previously reported. February's payrolls were revised up by 68,000 to 536,000.
Altogether, the U.S. economy remains 8.2 million payrolls short of pre-pandemic levels, and the unemployment rate is still above February 2020 rates.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Stocks, mega-cap tech stocks Apple
For Sector Performance, sectors on the S&P 500 all settled in the green, with Energy
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
For the week ahead, market participants will look towards fresh data on U.S. job openings for March and retail sales for April.