04:47 PM EDT, 06/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended the week higher as Nvidia ( NVDA ) continued to boost technology and significant services sector expansion coupled with blockbuster nonfarm payrolls counterintuitively failed to undermine risk sentiment.

* The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38,798.99 on Friday versus 38,686.32 a week ago. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 17,133.13 versus 16,735.01 a week prior. The S&P 500 ended at 5,346.99, compared with 5277.51 a week earlier.

* Nvidia ( NVDA ) advanced 10% this week, the top gainer among the biggest firms in the technology peer group. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) and ASML Holding ( ASML ) also helped push technology to the top of the sector chart. Technology has been instrumental in lifting the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes, both of which hit fresh record highs this week.

* The Institute for Supply Management's US services index climbed to 53.8 in May, its strongest showing in the past nine months, beating forecasts of 50.8. A reading above 50 means expansion and flies in the face of the Federal Reserve's record policy tightening. In contrast, the ISM US manufacturing index fell to 48.7 in May from 49.2 in April, compared with expectations for 49.6 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. A reading below 50 represents contraction, a desired outcome for the Fed.

* The highlight of the week was nonfarm payrolls, which soared by 272,000 in May, above the 180,000 increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. However, the 165,000 gain in April and a 310,000 jump in March were revised lower. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in May, above a 0.2% increase in April, lifting the year-over-year rate to 4.1% from 4% and posing a challenge to Fed policymaking.

* With core inflation likely to remain firm in June, the May payrolls "all but seals the deal against a [rate] cut in each of the next 3 Federal Open Market Committee meetings," Thomas Simons, US Economist at Jefferies, wrote in a note.