U.S. market indexes were higher Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,335.74 for a gain of 440.53 points or 1.77%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,786.57 for a gain of 47.60 points or 1.74%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,560.81 for a gain of 132.86 points or 1.79%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 14.59 for a loss of -1.95 points or -11.79%.
For the week, the Dow Jones gained 3.24%, the S&P 500 gained 3.52% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 4.15%.
Friday’s market movers
A positive jobs report helped U.S. market indexes to gain on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite reported a new closing high. In the broad market, financial and industrial sectors led gains.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The February Employment Situation report showed an increase of 313,000 jobs in the labor market. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%.
- Wholesale trade increased 0.8% in January.
- The Baker Hughes rig count decreased to 1,257 from 1,283.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Chevron (CVX, Financial) 3.36%
- Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) 3.01%
- General Electric (GE, Financial) 2.96%
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) 2.84%
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,597.13 for a gain of 25.16 points or 1.60%. The S&P 600 closed at 970.26 for a gain of 14.88 points or 1.56%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,955.04 for a gain of 152.91 points or 1.56%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 10,150.22 for a gain of 149.38 points or 1.49%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,949.07 for a gain of 31.44 points or 1.64%; the S&P 100 at 1,228.95 for a gain of 21.07 points or 1.74%; the Russell 3000 at 1,648.46 for a gain of 27.22 points or 1.68%; the Russell 1000 at 1,543.49 for a gain of 25.59 points or 1.69%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 696.52 for a gain of 7.75 points or 1.13%.