Highlights
Major stock indexes perked up Friday as surprisingly soft employment figures suggested the Federal Reserve would not proceed with feared interest rate increases. At 3:10 pm ET, the Dow Jones industrial average firmed 0.3 percent while the S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent, and the Nasdaq was up 1.2 percent. Bond yields and the dollar declined on the weak data. Oil prices rose.
Risk appetite was improving headed into the weekend on lower bond yields plus supportive earnings and lingering hopes for progress on the US-Iran war.
Among sectors, best were growth stocks, especially software plus the AI momentum trade in chip stocks. Consumer discretionary, real estate and materials also outperformed. Lagging were energy, financials, and consumer staples.
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