US stocks surge as jobs report hits 'sweet spot'

Wall Street stocks surged Friday after the Labor Department reported the US economy added a solid 223,000 jobs in April and unemployment fell to a seven-year low of 5.4 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average powered 267.05 points (1.49 percent) higher to 18,191.11.

The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 28.10 (1.35 percent) to 2,116.10, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 58.00 (1.17 percent) at 5,003.55.

The April labor data marked a big improvement from March, when the US added just 85,000 jobs. At the same time the US labor market showed some signs of weakness, with wages barely growing and underemployment still elevated.

The jobs data "came in at a sweet spot" for Wall Street, said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.

The report was much better than in March, but "was not so strong as to suggest the Federal Reserve may actually raise rates next month," he said.

Many economists said the jobs data suggested the Fed likely would wait until September or later in its plan to lift the near-zero federal funds rate this year.

The equity gains were broad-based, with all 30 members of the Dow finishing in the green. Apple rose 1.8 percent, Boeing advanced 2.8 percent and Goldman Sachs added 1.6 percent.

Biotech stocks performed especially well. Amgen advanced 2.8 percent and Biogen rose 4.0 percent.

Dow member McDonald's rose 1.5 percent on news that April global comparable sales fell 0.6 percent, less than the 1.9 percent drop projected by analysts. The fast-food chain unveiled a turnaround plan earlier this week following a succession of weak results.

Visa, another Dow component, rose 4.3 percent following a Bloomberg News report that it is in talks to buy its former subsidiary, Visa Europe, for as much as $20 billion.

Swiss farm chemicals powerhouse Syngenta bolted 11.4 percent higher following its rejection of a $45 billion takeover proposal by US seed giant Monsanto, saying the bid undervalues the company. Monsanto gained 1.4 percent.

Yelp rose for a second day in a row following reports the online listings and reviews company put itself up for sale, advancing 6.2 percent after jumping 23 percent on Thursday.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.14 percent from 2.18 percent Thursday, while the 30-year dipped to 2.90 percent from 2.91 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.