The world’s largest economy added 177,000 jobs last month, down slightly from the level in March but above analyst expectations.
Meanwhile, China said it is evaluating a US offer for negotiations on tariffs but insisted Washington must be ready to scrap levies.
“There has been incremental news in the direction that trade talks are progressing behind the scenes,” said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.
The S&P 500 finished at 5,686, up 1.4 percent for the day and 2.9 percent for the week.
The Dow Jones gained 1.4 percent to 41,317, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.5 percent to 17,977.
Cahill described Friday’s job report as corroborating most of the data earlier in a week jammed with key economic indicators.
“The news this week was on the bullish side when you add it all up,” Cahill said.
All 11 sectors in the S&P 500 finished in the green. Large and influential tech companies, including Microsoft, Facebook parent Meta and Nvidia, posted strong gains.
Among individual companies that reported earnings, Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, but shares tumbled 3.7 percent as it warned of a US$900 million hit in the current quarter due to tariffs.
Amazon slipped 0.1 percent as it reported a nine percent rise in first-quarter revenue, but projected lower-than-anticipated revenues amid tariffs.
Take-Two Interactive dove 6.7 percent in opening trading on Friday as the company pushed back the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest instalment of the popular video game series. (AFP)
