NEW YORK (Reuters) - The three major U.S. stock indexes rose more than 1 percent on Friday after weaker-than-expected U.S. wage growth helped to calm investor fears about rising interest rates and inflation, though the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials still posted losses for the week.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) provided the biggest boost as it jumped to a record high of $184.25 during the session after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) disclosed that it had raised its stake in the iPhone maker.
Apple shares ended Friday’s session up 3.9 percent at $183.83. The company’s stock surged to its greatest weekly percentage gain since October 2011.
At the market open, U.S. stocks had fallen after the Labor Department reported the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to near a 17-1/2-year low of 3.9 percent.
The S&P 500 bounced off its 200-day moving average, a technical level that indicates the long-term trend.
U.S. stocks climbed as the session progressed. Investors said that the low unemployment figure, which on its own might point to inflationary pressure on wages, was countered by April’s mere 0.1-percent rise in wages, which was below expectations.
“It’s a rather happy circumstance we find ourselves in,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Virginia. “Everyone has a job who wants one, and we don’t have the negative piece of it, which is the inflation piece.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 332.36 points, or 1.39 percent, to 24,262.51, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 33.69 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,663.42 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 121.47 points, or 1.71 percent, to 7,209.62.
For the week, the Dow lost 0.2 percent and the S&P fell 0.24 percent.
