US Markets Up As Jobs Figures Disappoint

US stocks climbed on Friday, led by technology shares, after a tepid US monthly jobs report relieved investor concerns the Federal Reserve might rein in monetary stimulus soon.

US employers increased hiring in May and raised wages as they competed for workers. But the non-farm payrolls increase of 559,000 jobs was below the 650,000 forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

Investors were concerned that a robust jobs report that pointed to rising inflation could prompt the Fed to pull back on stimulus put in place during the pandemic.

"It keeps pressure off the Fed and will enable them to keep their low interest rate policy in place longer and take more of a wait-and-see attitude," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management. "The opportunity to keep rates low is good news for risk takers."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.52 percent, to 34,756, the S&P 500 gained 0.88 percent, to 4,230 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.47 percent, to 13,814.

All three indexes rose for the week, with the Nasdaq posting its third straight weekly gain.

The wild rides for so-called "meme stocks" kept investors' attention, with AMC Entertainment Holdings shares falling 6.7 percent but rising over 80 percent for the week.

Billionaire William Ackman's Pershing Square Tontine Holdings dropped 11.9 percent after news it was in talks to buy 10 percent of Universal Music Group.

Next week, investors will watch Washington for clues on whether an outsized rally in shares of companies that would benefit from President Joe Biden's proposed US$1.7 trillion infrastructure plan has more room to run. (Reuters)