Equities advanced again Friday to finish a very strong week as employment figures played into the view that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. Investors also appeared to jump into the market on fear of missing the rally in a month when equities have tended to do well.

The Dow Jones industrial average firmed 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent, and the Nasdaq rose 1.4 percent. US Treasury yields and oil prices declined while the dollar rose.

Investors hoping for more signs of a slowing job market got somewhat smaller than expected rise in nonfarm payrolls and downward revisions to prior months. They got an uptick in the unemployment rate, and a downtick in the pace of growth in hourly earnings. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management's report on services came in weaker than expected too.

Bond yields continued trending down on the news with the 10-year note yield down another 14 basis points on the day to reach 4.52 percent, down from 5 percent a few weeks ago.

Among sectors, best were real estate, materials, utilities, consumer discretionary, financials, and industrials.

Only energy lagged as oil prices fell back again as the market prices out the risk premium associated with the Middle East conflict. A statement from the leader of Hezbollah suggesting the militant group would not intervene further in the Israel-Hamas war reassured markets that the conflict would remain relatively contained.

Market Reflections track market reaction to the trading day's major events. Economic data, policymaker speeches, and company news are featured in this report as well as key indexes and financial instruments.

Understanding why markets respond as they do is fundamental for an investor. Market Reflections help explain how the day's events, news, and data impact the outlook for the economy and for market prices.