US stocks rallied on Friday as market sentiment was fuelled by the better-than-expected jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 197.16 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 26,504.95. The S&P 500 rose 28.11 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 2,945.63, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 127.22 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 8,164.00.
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All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded on an upbeat note throughout the session and finished higher. Consumer discretionary and industrials gained 1.40 per cent and 1.24 per cent, respectively, outpacing the rest.
Major US tech-heavy stocks or the so-called FAANG group of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet, advanced, contributing to the market rally.
Wall Street cheered the robust US jobs data.
US total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in April, according to the Department of Labor on Friday. The reading easily topped market consensus.
Notable job gains occurred in professional and business services, construction, health care, and social assistance.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 3.6 per cent in April, the lowest rate since December 1969, said the department.
Friday's gains in US equities followed substantial losses in the past two consecutive sessions after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday dampened hopes for immediate rate cuts.
--IANS
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