04:31 PM EDT, 05/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes rallied Friday, aided by a post-earnings surge in Apple ( AAPL ) stock, as markets assessed weaker-than-expected jobs data.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2% to 16,156.3, while the S&P 500 rose 1.3% to 5,127.8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.2% to 38,675.7. Tech jumped 3%, leading sector gainers. Only energy closed lower.

For the week, the Nasdaq rose 1.4%, while the Dow gained 1.1%. The S&P 500 advanced 0.6%.

In company news, Apple ( AAPL ) shares jumped 6%, among the top gainers on the Dow and the Nasdaq. The technology giant late Thursday logged a surprise increase in fiscal Q2 earnings despite a slowdown in iPhone sales. The company announced additional stock repurchase authorization of up to $110 billion.

Amgen ( AMGN ) rose 12%, the biggest gain on all three indexes. The biopharmaceutical company late Thursday raised the low end of its full-year revenue outlook and said it's "very encouraged" with the interim clinical results of its potential obesity drug candidate MariTide.

Expedia Group's ( EXPE ) shares tumbled 15%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500, following a flurry of price target cuts by Wall Street analysts after the company reported Q1 results late Thursday.

The US 10-year yield fell 6.9 basis points to 4.50%, while the two-year dropped 6.5 basis points to 4.81%.

In economic news, total nonfarm payrolls in the US rose by 175,000 in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The consensus was for a 240,000 gain, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Average hourly earnings growth slowed to 0.2% sequentially from March's 0.3% rate, which was the pace modeled by analysts for April. The annual measure eased to 3.9% from 4.1%, below the Street's 4% view.

"Wage growth decelerated a bit more than expected last month," TD Economics said in a note. "This will be welcome news for (Federal Reserve) officials, particularly after other data points out this week, including the Employment Cost Index, showed an uptick in wage pressures more recently."

On Wednesday, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates unchanged for its sixth consecutive meeting and said there's been "a lack of further progress" in bringing inflation down in recent months.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said Friday that policymakers' current monetary policy stance appears to be restrictive, but there continues to be upside inflation risks, which, if materialized, may warrant raising interest rates.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.1% to $78.12 per barrel Friday. "Oil prices are heading for their steepest weekly decline in three months on demand uncertainty, as rates are expected to stay higher for longer, and easing tensions in the Middle East reducing supply risks," Saxo Bank said in a note.

The US services sector had a surprise contraction in activity in April following 15 consecutive months of growth, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management. Separately, S&P Global (SPGI) indicated a slowdown in growth in services sector activity.

"We are not overly concerned by the rough patch signaled by the (headline ISM) index," Oxford Economics said in a note. "Consumer spending will continue to grow thanks to a supportive labor market and keep the economy ticking along."

On Wednesday, data from the ISM showed that US manufacturing sector activity unexpectedly contracted last month, while S&P Global separately pointed to stagnation.

Gold was little changed at $2,310.20 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 0.3% to $26.74 per ounce.