Stocks rose higher on Friday as regional bank shares bounced off their lows and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) delivered better-than-expected quarterly earnings following a strong jobs report for April.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.85% or +75.03 points to 4,136.25
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +1.65% or +546.64 points to 33,674.38
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +2.25% or +269.01 points to 12,235.41
Despite Friday's strong performance, the Dow and S&P 500 both posted their worst week since March, losing 1.24% and 0.8%, respectively. The Nasdaq, on the other hand, rose to a small weekly gain of 0.07%.
Taking much of the spotlight on Friday, the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, according to the Labor Department, topping estimates for growth of 180,000. The month's unemployment rate also ticked lower to 3.4%, or its lowest level since 1969.
Meanwhile, wages rose 0.5% for the month, also topping estimates and posting the biggest monthly gain in a year for the key inflation gauge. On an annual basis, wages increased 4.4%, which was also above economist expectations. Investors saw the wages increase as signals that the Fed could raise interest rates again in June.
Employment gains in March were revised lower to 165,000 for the month, which was 71,000 fewer than previously reported. Moreover, February's job gains were also revised lower to 248,000 from 326,000.
Apple was also in the spotlight as the tech giant reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for its fiscal second quarter, driven by stronger-than-anticipated iPhone sales.
"We expect our June quarter year-over-year revenue performance to be similar to the March quarter assuming that the macroeconomic outlook does not worsen from what we are projecting today for the current quarter," CFO Luca Maestri said on a call with analysts, adding that the company expects overall revenue in the current quarter to decline about 3%.
Other notable market moves included a rebound in regional bank stocks including PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ: PACW), Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL), and Zions (NASDAQ: ZION) closing up 81%, 49% and 19%, respectively, after each stock saw heavy losses on Thursday. Those previous double-digit declines were driven by reports that PacWest was seeking strategic options, including a potential sale.
Looking ahead, Wall Street will be preparing for another round of earnings reports including PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), Airbnb (NYSE: ABNB) and Disney (NYSE: DIS).