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TECH PUSHES S&P 500, NASDAQ TO SIXTH STRAIGHT WEEK OF GAINS

U.S. stocks enjoyed yet another tech-driven rally on Friday as jobs data offered reassurances regarding labor market health, and solid corporate earnings helped investors look beyond uncertainties arising from attempts to resolve the war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq breezed to fresh all-time closing highs, while the Dow ended the session nominally higher.

All three clocked gains on the week, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq enjoying their sixth straight Friday-to-Friday gains. That's the longest weekly winning streak for both indexes since October 2024.

The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.84%, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 1.71%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI inched 0.02% higher.

Chip stocks .SOX roared back to life, jumping 5.5% to a record closing high in a resounding rebound in the wake of Thursday's 2.7% loss.

Intel INTC.O jumped 14% to a record high after reaching a deal with Apple AAPL.O to make some of the chips that power the gadget maker's iPhone, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

Among other SOX constituents, Micron Technology MU.O rose 15.5%, AMD AMD.O gained 11.4%, Qualcomm QCOM.O advanced 8.2%, and Marvell Technology MRVL.O increased 6.3%.

Tech .SPLRCT and communication services .SPRLCL sectors also registered record closing highs.

Crude prices CLc1, LCOc1 gained ground as U.S. and Iran swapped air strikes, stoking fears that the fragile truce could crumble amid efforts to reach a peace agreement. Washington said it expects a response from Tehran as soon as late Friday to the United States' latest proposal to end the war.

The first-quarter reporting season is nearly 90% complete. Of the 440 companies that have reported, 83% have delivered better-than-expected earnings, according to LSEG IBES. Analysts now expect aggregate first-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 28.6% year-on-year, nearly double the 14.4% growth estimates as they stood on April 1, per LSEG.

A report from the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, a 38% drop from March but 53,000 more than economists projected. The jobless rate held firm at 4.3% and wage growth was cooler than consensus.

In less happy news, the University of Michigan's preliminary take on May consumer sentiment showed the mood of the American consumer has tumbled to a record low this month.

Potential market-moving data in the offing next week include the Labor Department's consumer and producer prices, retail sales, existing home sales and industrial output.

Here's your closing snapshot

(Stephen Culp)

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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

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MIDDLE EAST PEACE WORRIES RETURN CLICK HERE

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MARKETS CLING ON AS CEASEFIRE IS TESTED CLICK HERE