The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 450 points Friday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite index both gained better than 1% as an inflation-friendly April U.S. jobs report and well-received Apple earnings pushed stocks higher.
The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ climbed 450.02 ticks (1.2%) to a 38,675.68 finish, while the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ added 63.59 points (1.3%) to 5,127.79.
Meanwhile, the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ added 315.37 points (2%) to 16,156.33.
Markets rallied after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported early Friday that non-farm payrolls rose 175,000 in April, down from 303,000 seen in March and below economists' 238,000 consensus forecast.
The BLS also said that the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 3.9% from 3.8% previously. Economists' consensus had been for an unchanged jobless rate.
The softer-than-expected report helped calm fears about U.S. inflation that has been preventing the Federal Reserve from making good on its longstanding promise to eventually cut the key Federal Funds rate.
A lower Fed funds rate historically helps stocks by making bond and money-market yields less attractive to investors.
The $USD (USDindex.FX)$ fell heavily against all major trade partner currencies in North American trade on the non-farm payrolls data, which came out just two days after the Fed left rates unchanged.
The Fed's rate-setting committee said Wednesday in a statement following its latest meeting that it can't cut rates without more confidence that U.S. inflation -- which is running close to 4% -- will ease back to the central bank's 2% target.
Markets also liked what they saw Friday about $Apple (AAPL.US)$, which rose 6% to a $183.36 close after reporting well-received quarterly earnings Thursday evening.