04:29 PM EDT, 04/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended the week lower as government bond yields rose after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell avoided blessing a narrative that policy easing will begin in June, while a strong jobs report left Wall Street heavyweights at loggerheads.

* The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38,904.04 on Friday, down from 39,807.37 last week. The S&P 500 closed at 5,204.34, compared with 5,254.35. The Nasdaq ended at 16,248.52 versus 16,379.46.

* "We do not expect that it will be appropriate to lower our policy rate until we have greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2%," Powell said in a speech. The Fed is making policy decisions "meeting by meeting."

* The US 10- and two-year Treasury yields headed for a weekly gain late Friday.

* Nonfarm payrolls in March beat by a wide margin. While February was revised lower marginally, the downward revisions in December and January were significant, implying headline payrolls have recently been prone to notable revisions. Average weekly hours rose in March, and so did the participation rate. Average hourly earnings growth was in line with expectations, but the year-over-year rate decelerated.

* A rise in labor force participation and moderation in wages point to an economy with larger supply-side tailwinds, Morgan Stanley said in a note. "The data point to a non-inflationary expansion of the labor market, and do not alter the Fed's course to a June cut."

* Stifel differed and said: "A stellar March jobs report reinforces the notion of a tight labor market and solid economy, complicating the outlook for Fed policy."

* Energy and communication services led sectors this week and over a month, implying a rotation out of the rally-fueling sectors is not a done deal yet.

* The probability that the Fed will stand pat in June rose to 51% by late Friday afternoon from 34% on Thursday, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.