U.S. stocks close higher on jobs report, earnings

NEW YORK» A solid jobs report and company earnings spurred U.S. stocks broadly higher Friday, driving the S&P 500 to its second consecutive weekly gain.

The Nasdaq composite hit an all-time high for the second time this week. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed less than 0.1 percent below the record high it reached Tuesday.

Technology and consumer-focused companies did the most to push the market higher.

Stocks in the communications, industrial, financial and health care sectors also notched solid gains as traders cheered surprisingly good earnings from United States Steel, Weight Watchers and other companies.

Investors also welcomed the government’s latest snapshot of U.S. employment, which showed that job growth surged in April past economists’ forecasts and unemployment fell to a five-decade low.

“Overall, this was a solid report that should assuage fears that the U.S. economy is losing momentum,” said Quincy Krosby, the chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The S&P 500 index gained 28.12 points, or 1 percent, to 2,945.64. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 197.16 points, or 0.7 percent, to 26,504.95. The Nasdaq composite climbed 127.22 points, or 1.6 percent, to 8,164. The Russell 2000 index picked up 31.37 points, or 2 percent, to 1,614.02.

The S&P 500 is now up 17.5 percent for the year. The Nasdaq is leading the way, however, with a gain of 23 percent.

United States Steel surged 17.3 percent Friday after a sharp increase in sales helped push profit far beyond Wall Street forecasts.

Weight Watchers surged 13 percent after reporting losses for the first quarter that were much slimmer than expected.

Crude oil prices recovered some of their losses from a day earlier. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.2 percent to settle at $61.94 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.1 percent to close at $70.85.