by Sinéad Carew and Amruta Khandekar

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Friday as interest rates fell sharply as figures and macroeconomic indicators, including U.S. employment, revived hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Reuters) Fed) refrain from raising rates at its next meeting.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.66%, or 222.24 points, to 34,061.32 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 40.56 points, or 0.94%, to 4,358.34 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 184.09 points (1.38%) to 13,478.283 points.

The US Department of Labor released its monthly report on Friday, which showed that 150,000 non-farm jobs were created in October compared to the Reuters consensus of 180,000.

“From a (monetary) policy perspective, this reinforces the sentiment that the Fed will maintain the status quo for the foreseeable future and will only raise rates again if inflation accelerates,” Matt Palazzolo said. investment strategist at Bernstein Private Wealth Management.

According to him, the slowdown observed in the labor market should continue for the next six to nine months, which “should push the Fed to remain at current levels.”

Treasury yields fell for the fourth straight session. The ten-year yield hit a low of more than five weeks during the session.

“The drop in interest rates is probably the biggest catalyst of the week,” said Tony Welch of SignatureFD in Atlanta.

Most of the eleven major sectors of the S&P500 rose, notably real estate. Only the energy sector was down, affected by the decline in oil prices.

In terms of values, Apple finished lower after reporting lower-than-expected sales forecasts for the holiday period.

Block, for its part, progressed after raising its profit forecasts.

(Reporting Sinéad Carew, Amruta Khandekar and Shristi Achar A; Camille Raynaud)

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