WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, more than offsetting the pullback seen over the course of the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has led the way higher, reaching a new record intraday high along with the S&P 500.
Currently, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are hovering near their best levels of the day. The Nasdaq is up 337.62 points or 1.3 percent at 26,143.82 and the S&P 500 is up 52.79 points or 0.7 percent at 7,389.90.
The narrower Dow, on the other hand, has pulled back well off its highs of the session and is currently up just 4.96 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 49,601.93.
The strength on Wall Street comes following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing much stronger than expected U.S. job growth in the month of April.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 115,000 jobs in April after surging by an upwardly revised 185,000 jobs in March.
Economists had expected employment to climb by 63,000 jobs compared to the jump of 178,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report showed notable job growth in the healthcare, transportation and warehousing, and retail sectors, while federal government employment continued to edge lower.
Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.3 percent in April, unchanged from March and in line with economist estimates.
The data has helped ease concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East even after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz last night.
Three U.S. destroyers came under fire from Iranian missiles and drones as they transited the strait, but U.S. Central Command said it eliminated the inbound threats and targeted the Iranian military facilities responsible for the attacks.
In a subsequent phone call with ABC News' Rachel Scott, President Donald Trump called the retaliatory strikes against the Iranian targets 'just a love tap' and said the ceasefire remains in effect.
Sector News
Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, contributing to the strong upward move by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Reflecting the strength in the sectors, the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index has spiked by 4.3 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has surged by 3.8 percent.
Gold stocks are also seeing considerable strength amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.4 percent.
On the other hand, biotechnology stocks have shown a notable move to the downside, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index falling by 1.2 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slipped by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.9 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 1.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are rebounding after turning lower over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.4 basis points at 4.358 percent.
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