Wild trading day | Dow ends 500 points higher | Nasdaq cuts losses for week

FRI, MAR 05, 2021

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF FRI, MAR 05, 2021 • 04:44 ET

DJIA		31496.30
		+1.85%	+572.16

S&P 500		3841.94
		+1.95%	+73.47

NASDAQ		12920.15
		+1.55%	+196.68

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	121.42	+1.29	+1.07%
MSFT	231.60	+4.87	+2.15%
INTC	60.74	+2.41	+4.13%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	121.42	+1.29	+1.07%
GE	13.60	+0.04	+0.29%
NCLH	28.85	-4.05	-12.31%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	121.42	+1.29	+1.07%
TSLA	597.95	-23.49	-3.78%
AMD	78.52	+0.77	+0.99%

EDITOR'S NOTE

Stocks were whipsawed Friday, as the market engaged in a tug of war between the better-than-expected February jobs report and a rise in Treasury yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up more than 570 points, after earlier dropping as much as 150 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.95% and 1.55%, respectively.

At one point during the trading day, the Nasdaq was down more than 2.5% and had lost its gain for the year.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 379,000 in February and the unemployment rate was 6.2%. Dow Jones estimates from economists were for 210,000 new jobs and a headline jobless rate of 6.3%. Most of the hiring came in the hospitality sector, which saw 355,000 new jobs. Education, construction and mining all saw declines.

"This was a welcomed change of events for a suppressed labor market as we begin to turn the helm on a restrained economy and open back up," said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management. "It appears the ship is pointed in the right direction and the additional stimulus coming from Congress should be the wind in the sails to get the economy back on track."

Stocks initially tanked Friday as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hit an intraday high of 1.626%. The spike in interest rates fueled fears that growth-oriented tech companies, which had led the market rally last year, may have a hard time living up to expectations if borrowing costs jump. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended the week in the green, but the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell for the week, despite Friday's rebound.