- US stocks rebounded to close the week as a strong February jobs report recovered earlier losses in tech stocks.
- The US added 379,000 jobs in February, beating the consensus estimate of 200,000 additions.
- The 10-year Treasury yield steadied after peaking at 1.62% on Friday morning.
- Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
US stocks rebounded Friday as dip-buyers emboldened by the strong February jobs report helped lift mega-cap technology stocks out of correction territory.
Businesses added 379,000 payrolls in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a gain of 200,000 payrolls. Further, the US unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 6.2% from 6.3%.
The 10-year Treasury yield surged to 1.62% on Friday morning after the jobs report. Its rise this week reflects that the US is preparing to exit a "horrible time in our economy," says Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, told Insider.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Friday:
- S&P 500: 3,841.94, up 2%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 31,496.30, up 1.9% (572 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 12,920.15, up 1.6%
The recent decline in tech stocks has created a "massive buying opportunity" as another 30% jump in the sector is possible over the next 12 to 18 months, according to analysts at Wedbush Securities.
Palantir stock sank as much as 18% on Friday continuing its downward spiral since hitting record highs of $39 per share on January 27. Palantir's recent lockup expiration that released some 80% of the company's shares to trade on the open market led to significant insider sales which have hurt the stock in recent weeks.
Bitcoin tested but failed to retake the $50,000 level, climbing as much as 3.2% to $49,462.47 on Friday.
Oil prices rose after the OPEC group of oil producers and its allies unexpectedly agreed to continue limiting supply Thursday. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped as much as 4%, to $66.40 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose by 4.3%, to $69.59 per barrel, at intraday highs.
Gold fell as much as 1%, to $1,683 per ounce.