Stocks jumped sharply Friday after a softer-than-expected April jobs report{

U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in April

The nonfarm payrolls report for April showed 175,000 jobs added, below the 240,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%, compared to 3.8% in the prior month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Revisions to February and March jobs numbers decreased the cumulative jobs added in those periods by 22,000.

— Jesse Pound

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 450.02 points, or 1.18%, to settle at 38,675.68. The S&P 500 surged 1.26% to finish at 5,127.79 and notch its best day since February, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.99% to close at 16,156.33.

All the averages capped off a winning week. The Dow and Nasdaq rose 1.14% and 1.43%, respectively, while the S&P 500 added 0.55%.

Friday's nonfarm payrolls report showed 175,000 jobs gained in April, below the 240,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%, versus 3.8% in the prior month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wage figures also came in less than expected, an encouraging sign for inflation.

"It's really eased investors' fears that the economy may be overheating or reaccelerating, and it's reviving hope for rate cuts," said John Hancock Investment Management's co-chief investment strategist Emily Roland. "That's why rates are falling, bonds are rallying and equity markets are up. Bad news for the jobs market, means the Fed may be able to start cutting later this year."

Following April's weaker-than-expected job growth and moderating wage gains, traders are pricing in a second rate cut by the end of the year. Fed funds futures trading data suggests a nearly 50% likelihood of a a 25 basis point rate cut in September, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tracker of futures market pricing.

Rates also dropped following the labor report, with the 10-year Treasury yield briefly falling below 4.5%. The movement benefited rate-sensitive megacap technology stocks, with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices advancing more than 3%. Microsoft and Meta Platforms gained 2% each, while the S&P's information technology sector surged 3%.

Strong quarterly reports from major Dow components also contributed to Friday's rally. Apple advanced nearly 6% after it announced a $110 billion share repurchase and a top -and bottom-line beat. Biotech stock Amgen surged nearly 12% after posting better-than-expected earnings and offering a positive update on an experimental obesity drug. Shares notched their best day since 2009{

Amgen heads for best day in nearly 15 years

Amgen shares popped 12% on Friday, putting the drugmaker on pace for its best daily move in nearly 15 years.

Shares surged on the back of strong quarterly results and the company offered an encouraging update on its experimental obesity drug candidate.

If Amgen closes at these levels, the stock will register its best day since July 8, 2009, when shares jumped nearly 14%.

— Samantha Subin

Dow gains 450 points, major averages notch winning week

Stocks closed higher Friday and capped off a winning week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 450.02 points, or 1.2%, to settle at 38,675.68. The S&P 500 surged 1.3% to finish at 5,127.79 and notch its best day since February, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 2% to close at 16,156.33.

All the averages capped off a winning week. The Dow and Nasdaq rose 1.18% and 1.26%, respectively, while the S&P added 0.55%.

— Samantha Subin

Rare muscle disease stock jumps following BofA call

Shares of Avidity Biosciences rose almost 5% after Bank of America said it is optimistic on the pipeline of muscle disease treatments.

Analyst Geoff Meacham initiated research coverage with a buy rating. Meacham's $40 price target implies potential upside of 56% from Thursday's close, which would add to an already-strong year for the stock.

"With an innovative platform and a path to commercialization as early as 2026, we view RNA as an attractive risk-reward opportunity," Meacham told clients. RNA is the stock's ticker.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Alex Harring

Defense ETF reaches new record high

The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) hit a record high on Friday.

The exchange-traded fund at one point traded above $133 in Friday's session, notching the highest intraday price going back to its inception in 2006. Several members including Heico, Howmet Aerospace and TransDigm also touched their most expensive prices in at least a year.

The fund has gained more than 4% compared with the start of 2024.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Information technology sector jumps more than 3%, leads S&P 500

Information technology stocks rallied on Friday, lifting the S&P 500 sector 3.4%.

Apple led those gains, surging 7% after announcing strong quarterly results and a stock buyback plan. Enphase Energy and Arista Networks popped more than 5%. Semiconductor stocks Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Applied Materials and Broadcom rose about 3% each.

Materials was the second best-performing sector, rallying 1%. Freeport-McMoRan and Steel Dynamics added about 3% each. Albemarle, Nucor and Sherwin-Williams rose 2% each.

— Samantha Subin

Jobless rates rose in April for all races except Black Americans

Black workers were the only demographic who saw their unemployment rate decline in the month of April.

This held true for both men and women.

On the other hand, the overall unemployment rate crept slightly higher to 3.9% last month from 3.8%. The metric also rose for white, Asian and Hispanic workers.

The labor force participation rate slid for Black workers in April.

Read the full demographics article here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

Apple — The tech giant jumped nearly 7% after announcing it would repurchase $110 billion in shares. Apple also posted beats on the top and bottom lines, reporting fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.53 per share on $90.75 billion in revenue.

Live Nation Entertainment — Shares jumped 9% on the back of better-than-expected first-quarter revenue. Management said it expects a strong stadium year in 2025 and continued growth in concert attendance. 

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Friday rally puts major indexes on track for winning weeks

Friday's advance has pulled the three major averages solidly into winning territory for the week.

As of Friday morning, the S&P 500 was now trading about 0.5% above its flatline for the week. The Dow climbed 1.2% on the week, while the Nasdaq Composite has added 1.4%.

Heading into Friday's session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both down more than 0.5% on the week, while the Dow was marginally below its flatline.

— Alex Harring

Labor force participation rate hits highest level on record for women in April

The labor force participation rate for prime-age women between 25 and 54 years old rose to 78% in April, hitting the highest level on record since 1948.

The figure is up from a participation rate of 77.7% in March.

— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla

Russell 2000 on pace for second straight week of gains

The Russell 2000 was last up around 0.8%, on pace for its third straight positive day. Small-cap leaders on Friday include Opendoor, Twist Bioscience, Re/Max and Alignment Healthcare, all higher by more than 20%.

The index traded above its 50-day moving average level of 2,039.16 for the first time since April 11.

Week to date, the Russell 2000 is up 1.5%, on track for its second consecutive positive week.

— Hakyung Kim

Amgen heads for best day in nearly 15 years

Amgen shares popped 12% on Friday, putting the drugmaker on pace for its best daily move in nearly 15 years.

Shares surged on the back of strong quarterly results and the company offered an encouraging update on its experimental obesity drug candidate.

If Amgen closes at these levels, the stock will register its best day since July 8, 2009, when shares jumped nearly 14%.

— Samantha Subin

Trump Media auditor charged by SEC with ‘massive fraud’

The auditing firm for Trump Media and the auditor's owner were charged Friday with "massive fraud" by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for work that affected more than 1,500 SEC filings, the federal regulator announced.

The auditor, BF Borgers CPA, and its owner Benjamin Borgers have agreed to be permanently suspended from practicing as accountants before the SEC, and also agreed to pay a combined $14 million in civil penalties, with admitting or denying the allegations, the SEC said.

The bombshell SEC action raised questions about the accuracy of the financial information in thousands of reports that were issued by the companies Borgers audited, including Trump Media, whose majority shareholder is former President Donald Trump.

Trump Media shares fell 5%.

For more, read the full story here.

— Dan Mangan, Rohan Goswami, Tanaya Macheel

Services index enters contraction for the first time in more than a year

Activity in the U.S. services sector contracted in April for the first time since December 2022, according to an Institute for Supply Management report Friday.

The ISM services index fell to 49.4, down 2 points from March and below the Dow Jones estimate for 52. The index measures how firms report expansion against contraction, so any reading below 50 denotes a pullback, and April's gauge ended a streak of 15 months of growth.

Along with the broad index pullback, the prices index jumped 5.8 points to 59.2, reflecting ongoing inflation pressures. Inventories and order backlogs also saw gains, while production, employment and new orders declined.

— Jeff Cox

Corn futures hit highest level since January

Corn futures rose about 1% on Friday to trade at a nearly four-month high of 464.75 per bushel.

Since the start of the week, corn is up more than 3% and on pace for its second consecutive positive week. Corn rose 3.8% last week and currently sits at its highest level since Jan. 5.

— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla

Stocks open higher after weak jobs report, Dow jumps 500 points

Stocks opened higher Friday following a softer-than-expected jobs report for April.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 578 points, or 1.5%. The S&P 500 surged 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.8%.

— Samantha Subin

Weak jobs reports should benefit relief rally underway, says Nuveen's Malik

April's weaker-than-expected jobs report should benefit equities in the short term, according to Nuveen's Saira Malik.

"This is one data point, but it's one data point in the right direction," the chief investment officer told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday. "In the short term, it's going to add to this relief rally that we're already seeing from a less hawkish Fed and strong earnings."

Weaker manufacturing data remains a concern longer term and could put rate hikes back on the table if the economy shows signs of continued resilience, she added.

— Samantha Subin

Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Apple, Amgen and more

Here are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

Apple — The tech giant jumped more than 7% after announcing it would repurchase $110 billion of its own stock and a top- and bottom-line beat.

Amgen — Shares soared 12% after the biotech firm posted a first-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

Cloudflare — The stock continued to sink, plunging 11% after reporting weak full-year guidance, although Cloudflare posted a first-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in April

The nonfarm payrolls report for April showed 175,000 jobs added, below the 240,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%, compared to 3.8% in the prior month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Revisions to February and March jobs numbers decreased the cumulative jobs added in those periods by 22,000.

— Jesse Pound

Europe stocks open higher

European stocks opened cautiously higher on Friday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.23% at 8:10 a.m. London time.

Germany's DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were both up 0.3%, while France's CAC 40 nudged 0.2% higher.

— Jenni Reid

Japanese yen recovers 4.5% against U.S. dollar, set for best week in more than a year

The Japanese yen was trading at 152.93 against the U.S. dollar and was set to end its best week in more than a year, despite hitting its weakest level since 1990 on Monday at 160.03.

Analysts, including from Bank of America, have suggested there were likely two interventions carried out by Japanese authorities during the week, on Monday and Wednesday. The authorities are yet to make an official statement to confirm the interventions.

"The government has been refusing to disclose whether they've been intervening or not, but I don't think many people have any doubts," Nicholas Smith, Japan strategist at CLSA, told CNBC.

The yen has recovered some 4.5% since it hit a 34-year low on Monday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

A weaker yen is not entirely unwelcome, HSBC says

HSBC said in a client note that yen weakness plays a key role in "reflating" Japan's economy, a goal that the Bank of Japan expects to achieve this year.

"After years and years of losing competitiveness, exporters are at last feeling the lift from exchange rate realignment. And, one might suspect, an even weaker exchange rate, and for longer, may be needed, to turn the lift into an enduring manufacturing renaissance," Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC said.

Neumann said the weaker yen is boosting Japan's service sector via tourism, in turn helping lift inflation expectations.

"A weaker yen, in other words, is not entirely unwelcome, as long as the decline is orderly. Thus, don't expect the BOJ to rush into aggressive tightening just because the exchange rate is wobbly," Neumann added.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

CNBC Pro: Goldman says these global stocks will soar on an $857.5 billion electrification boom - gives one 45% upside

Demand for power and data centers has been taking the world by storm, and its not just the U.S. tech giants that are set to benefit, according to Goldman Sachs.

Europe is set see a pick up in demand and electricity consumption by as much as 50% in the next 10 years - reversing the slump it has been facing since 2008, the investment bank's analysts noted.

The massive growth translates to an investment of nearly 800 euros ($857.5 billion) in Europe's power transmission and distribution network, they added, naming stocks with over 30% upside potential on their radar.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

CNBC Pro: Goldman names global stocks with the highest sustainable dividends, giving one 10% yield

European companies are more cash-rich than they have been in recent history.

Companies in the Stoxx 600 index have nearly 1.5 trillion euros, or $1.6 trillion, in cash on their balance sheets — that is 25% higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to Goldman Sachs.

The dividend yield differential between Europe and the U.S. is the narrowest it has ever been, making Europe more appealing, according to Goldman Sachs. "In other words, Europe has rarely looked cheaper on an absolute and relative basis," it said.

CNBC Pro takes a look at some stocks that turned up on Goldman's screen of high dividend yield names. They are companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 with the highest 12-month forward dividend yields in each sector.

Subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Apple, Expedia, Amgen among stocks making biggest moves in extended trading

Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading:

Apple — The iPhone maker advanced 7% as it announced a $110 billion share repurchase and a top- and bottom-line beat. Apple's fiscal second-quarter earnings came in at $1.53 per share, while revenue was $90.75 billion. That surpassed analysts' estimates for earnings of $1.50 per share on revenue of $90.01 billion, per LSEG.

Expedia — The online travel company dropped roughly 8% in after-hours trading. Expedia lowered its full-year guidance to a range of mid to high single-digit top-line growth, citing slowness in Vrbo and the rate of acceleration in business to consumer so far. Expedia posted a beat on first-quarter revenue, which came in at $2.89 billion, surpassing analysts' estimates of $2.81 billion, per LSEG.

Amgen — The biotech company surged 11%. Amgen posted adjusted earnings of $3.96 per share on revenue of $7.45 billion in the first quarter. Analysts polled by LSEG anticipated earnings of $3.87 per share and revenue of $7.44 billion. The company also said it would move its injectable obesity drug into a phase 3 trial, but it will no longer pursue an experimental weight loss pill it had in development.

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

Stock futures open higher on Thursday

In Thursday's extended trading session, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 244 points higher, or 0.6%. S&P 500 futures added 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained nearly 0.5%.

— Pia Singh