On Friday, stocks saw a significant increase, continuing Thursday's recovery trend. The Dow and S&P 500 both achieved new record closing highs, making up for the substantial decline witnessed on Wednesday.
Stock indexes dipped slightly before closing but remained in the positive. The Nasdaq increased by 1.7 percent to 15,628.95, the S&P 500 ascended by 1.1 percent to 4,958.61, and the S&P 500 became higher by 0.4 percent, finishing at 38,654.42.
In the end, the Nasdaq closed the week with a rise of 1.1 percent, and the Dow and the S&P 500 increased by 1.4 percent each.
Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms, and Amazon's promising earnings reports drove Wall Street's prolonged rally. Meta's shares catapulted by 20.3 percent after announcing better-than-expected Q4 results, their first quarterly dividend, and a $50 billion share repurchase. Similarly, Amazon increased by 7.9 percent after surpassing Q4 analysts forecasts on all fronts.
Moreover, traders responded to a report from the Labor Department showing that job growth in January surpassed estimates, with non-farm payroll employment increasing by 353,000 compared to the predicted 180,000. December's employment growth also surpassed previously reported figures, indicating a rise of 333,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 percent in January, defying economists predictions of a slight rise to 3.8 percent. Larry Tentarelli, Chief Technical Strategist at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, interprets a strong jobs market as a net positive for both the economy and the stock market.
Retail stocks experienced significant growth due to promising job data inspiring confidence in consumer spending's outlook. As a result, the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index increased by 3.1 percent, reaching a two-year high.
Brokerage stocks, software, semiconductor, and airline stocks also saw marked increases.
Conversely, gold stocks fell sharply after a rally on Thursday, resulting in the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plummeting by 3.4% in response to the precious metal's price drop.
In overseas trading, Asia-Pacific stock markets remained mixed on Friday. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and South Korea's Kospi rose by 0.4% and 2.9% respectively, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.5%. European markets exhibited a similar trend.
In bond market trading, treasury notes saw a significant decrease following steady climbs in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on ten-year notes rose by 18.4 basis points to 4.047 percent.
The coming week's US economic calendar appears relatively subdued compared to this week's key economic events. However, traders will likely keep a close eye on weekly jobless claims, service sector activity, and the US trade deficit. Earnings news will possibly remain in the spotlight, especially with companies like Caterpillar, McDonald's, Amgen, Ford, Disney and PepsiCo slated to announce their quarterly results.
