U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 200 points on Friday.

The Dow traded up 1.01% to 38,987.23 while the NASDAQ rose 1.50% to 16,289.37. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.29% to 5,213.49.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares jumped by 1.9% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares rose by just 0.2%.

Top Headline

U.S. employers added 303,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, marking an increase from the 270,000 reading in February and surpassing the expected 212,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

The unemployment rate slowed from 3.9% to 3.8%, easing more than expected.

Equities Trading UP

MediaCo Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:MDIA) shares shot up 207% to $4.2946 after a 13D amended filing showed Standard General L.P. reported a 95.2% stake in the company as of April 1, 2024.

Shares of GCT Semiconductor Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:GCTS) got a boost, surging 47% to $8.41 after the company and Aramco signed an MOU to accelerate the development of the 4G and 5G ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

HUB Cyber Security Ltd. (NASDAQ:HUBC) shares were also up, gaining 61% to $1.6781 after the company announced $8 million in financing via a straight debt arrangement.

Equities Trading DOWN

Semantix, Inc. (NASDAQ:STIX) shares dropped 40% to $0.5251 after the company announced it will voluntarily delist from the Nasdaq Global Market.

Shares of Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. (NYSE:ZGN) were down 15% to $11.89 as the company reported FY23 financial results.

Biodesix, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDSX) was down, falling 11% to $1.35 after the company announced pricing of its oversubscribed and upsized underwritten offering of common stock and concurrent private placement.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.6% to $87.09 while gold traded up 1.6% at $2,346.00.

Silver traded up 1.1% to $27.55 on Friday, while copper fell 0.5% to $4.23.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dipped 0.97%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.96% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.72% The German DAX declined 1.31% French CAC 40 fell 1.29% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.53%.

Retail sales in the eurozone fell by 0.5% month-over-month in February, while the HCOB eurozone construction PMI fell to 42.4 in March compared to 42.9 a month ago.

The S&P Global UK construction PMI climbed to 50.2 in March, recording the highest reading since Aug. 2023, while UK’s Halifax House Price Index increased by 0.3% year-over-year in March. German construction PMI declined to 38.3 in March versus 39.1 in February, while French construction PMI slipped to 41 from 41.9.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.96%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.01%, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex rising 0.03%.

The index of leading economic indicators in Japan rose to 111.8 in February versus a final level of 109.5 in the prior month, while index of coincident economic indicators fell to 110.9 in February versus a final 112.1. The S&P Global Hong Kong SAR PMI climbed to 50.9 in March from 49.7 in February.

Economics

U.S. employers added 303,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, marking an increase from the 270,000 reading in February and surpassing the expected 212,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

The unemployment rate slowed from 3.9% to 3.8%, easing more than expected.

Average hourly earnings eased from 4.3% to 4.1%, in line with predictions.

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