US stocks rose after key jobs data came in stronger than expected.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%.
Treasury yields fell slightly but remained relatively stable.
New data released Friday showed the U.S. economy added 275,000 jobs in February, surpassing economists' estimates of 200,000.
The strong economic reports are poorly received on Wall Street because they mean the Federal Reserve may need to keep interest rates high longer to slow the economy and cool inflation. But markets appear to be taking a “good news is good news” approach to Friday's report.
This is because while payrolls increased, there was also a sharp downward revision to the January numbers and wage growth moderated.
“The report didn't necessarily represent an 'all clear' signal for the Fed, but there also didn't appear to be anything in it that would derail its plan to cut rates in the second half of the year,” said Chris Larkin, chief trading officer. and E*Trade investments.
Financial markets currently see about a 78% chance that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden suggested a tax increase on ultra-wealthy Americans during his State of the Union address Thursday night. But so far investors do not seem to react to the proposal.
Costco shares opened down 5.4% Friday morning after the mega-retailer beat earnings expectations but missed sales from the final quarter of last year.
DocuSign soared 5.4% after the company beat profit expectations and raised its guidance for next year.
