Wall Street rebounds on Friday, ends week with decent gains

Major equity indexes in the U.S. closed the week on a positive note on the back of solid job numbers and a strong rebound in tech shares.

Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday revealed that the total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 222,000 in June, surpassing economists' expectations for a 179,000 gain. Commenting on the data, James Knightley, Chief International Economist at ING, said that Strong US jobs growth should eventually translate into higher wages, but it is taking time to do so as the Fed remains confident it will come, suggesting gradual hikes will continue, while the market continues to have doubts.

Led by the good performance of financials, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 94.30 points, or 0.44% percent, to close the day at 21,414.34, and the S&P 500 rose by 14 points, or 0.58%, to 2,422.50. In the meantime, Microsoft and Apple shares gained more than 1%, lifting the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to 6,111.21 points (+1%, +63.6 points).

Headlines from the U.S. session:

• US Dollar Index posts weekly gains, remains under pressure
• US Sec. Tillerson: Putin-Trump meeting was very constructive
• Fed continues to hold its cards close to its chest - Wells Fargo
• FX Week Ahead: It's a risky strategy banking on the Phillips Curve coming good - ING
• NFP underpins Fed's dilemma: unemployment and (wage) inflation are low at the same time - Danske Bank
• German Chancellor Merkel: G20 communique is still being hammered out
• NY Fed raises GDP Nowcast to 2% for 2017:Q2
• Fed: Consumer spending appears to have rebounded recently - MonPol Report
• US: NFP report good enough to keep Fed on policy tightening path - ING
• US: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 222,000 in June