-- The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 reached new peaks on Friday, boosting their weekly gains, following a stronger-than-expected jobs report.
The Nasdaq climbed 1.7% to 26,247.1, while the S&P 500 added 0.8% to 7,398.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended just above the flatline at 49,606.5.
Among sectors, technology paced the gainers with a 2.7% jump, while utilities and healthcare saw the steepest drop.
Micron Technology (MU) jumped 15% and Intel (INTC) soared nearly 14%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500. Apple (AAPL) gained 2.1% and Nvidia (NVDA) rose 1.8%, two of the five best performers on the Dow.
This week, the Nasdaq logged a weekly gain of 4.5%, while the S&P 500 rose 2.3%. Both indexes marked their sixth consecutive weekly advance, which CNBC said is the longest win streak since 2024. The Dow posted a weekly gain of 0.2%.
Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, well above the 65,000 increase expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
"Earlier signs hinted that the job market had actually been gathering strength in recent weeks, and the April nonfarm payroll report pounded home that reality with full force," Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Financial Group, said in a report.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3% in April, in line with Wall Street's estimates.
For the Federal Reserve, the hiring momentum further shifts the focus to inflation, keeping it on the sidelines for now, "and raising the possibility of future rate hikes," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in a report e-mailed to.
Brent advanced 0.6% to $100.68 per barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $94.84. Both benchmarks were on track for weekly declines following two consecutive weekly advances.
The US Central Command said Friday it fired on two Iranian-flagged empty oil tankers trying to bypass an ongoing blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington expects Iran to respond to its peace proposal Friday, CNN reported, citing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The US and Iran traded fire Thursday in the narrow waterway, though a fragile ceasefire between the two appeared to still be holding.
The United Arab Emirates intercepted two ballistic missiles and engaged three drones fires by Iran, the UAE's Ministry of Defense said on Friday.
The oil market was "relatively calm" despite the flare-up of tensions between the US and Iran, Macquarie said in a report.
"We suspect that the market's calm reflects the unwillingness of the US to broaden the conflict beyond what's needed to protect US navy ships that are trying to secure safe passage through the strait for third-party commercial vessels," Macquarie said.
US Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year rate down 2.6 basis points at 4.37% and the two-year rate easing 1.2 basis points to 3.90%.
US consumer sentiment continued to fall in May as cost pressures tied to the Middle East conflict sent the measure tumbling to fresh lows, a survey by the University of Michigan showed.
In company news, Akamai Technologies (AKAM) shares surged nearly 27%, the best performer on the S&P 500. The company late Thursday disclosed a new $1.8 billion cloud infrastructure services contract with an unnamed company. The seven-year contract should help accelerate revenue growth, UBS Securities said, even though the brokerage is skeptical about the deal's impact on margins and profitability.
Fluor (FLR) reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results, while the engineering and construction company lowered the top end of its full-year earnings outlook. The company's shares tumbled 15%.
Gold was up 0.5% at $4,732.90 per troy ounce, while silver gained 1.2% to $81.15 per ounce.