04:26 PM EDT, 05/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed higher Thursday amid a post-earnings rally in Moderna's ( MRNA ) stock, as markets awaited official April jobs data due Friday.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.5% to 15,841. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% each to 5,064.2 and 38,225.7, respectively. Tech and consumer discretionary led sector gainers. Only materials and healthcare closed lower.

In company news, Moderna ( MRNA ) shares surged nearly 13%, the best performer on the Nasdaq and among the best on the S&P 500. The drugmaker logged a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter and affirmed its full-year revenue outlook.

Howmet Aerospace ( HWM ) was the top gainer on the S&P 500, up 16%, as the company raised its 2024 guidance following a first-quarter beat.

DoorDash ( DASH ) shares tumbled 10%, the steepest decline on the Nasdaq. The food delivery company late Wednesday recorded a slightly wider-than-expected first-quarter loss while its short-term core profit outlook fell short of market estimates at the midpoint.

The US two-year yield fell 5.2 basis points to 4.89% Thursday, while the 10-year rate dropped one basis point to 4.58%.

Official data are likely to show Friday that the US economy added 243,000 jobs last month, which would mark a drop from a 303,000 increase in March, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

On Thursday, government data showed that weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US were flat.

"The Federal Reserve is attentive to inflation risks, but the central bank is ready to respond to a weakening in the labor market," Oxford Economics said in a note. "The good news is that there is little sign of problems in the job market, according to initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits."

Separately, a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that US-based employers cut 64,789 jobs in April, a 28% decline from March and down 3.3% from a year earlier.

"The labor market remains tight," said Andrew Challenger, the company's senior vice president. "As labor costs continue to rise, companies will be slower to hire, and we expect further cuts will be needed."

The US trade deficit narrowed in March as exports and imports both fell, government data showed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was little changed at $78.98 per barrel Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Fed's monetary policy committee kept interest rates unchanged for its sixth consecutive meeting, saying there's been "a lack of further progress" in bringing inflation down in recent months.

"Despite the realization of a lack of inflationary progress and the likelihood it 'will take longer than previously expected' for the Fed to gain confidence that price pressures are sustainably easing course, (Fed Chair Jerome Powell) indicated the next move would likely be a rate cut and not a rate hike," Stifel said in a Thursday note.

Gold rose 0.1% to $2,312.70 per troy ounce, while silver added 0.5% to $26.89 per ounce.