US: Stocks end higher after Powell remarks

WALL Street stocks finished higher on Friday (Mar 7) after a roller-coaster session following mixed labour market data, concluding a losing week on a positive note.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said investors were reassured by a midday appearance from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who described the central bank is in no hurry to shift course on monetary policy.

“When Powell came out with a calm and reassuring tone, it gave the market an excuse to rally,” O’Hare said.

The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 5,770.20, up 0.6 per cent for the day but down 3.1 per cent for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5 per cent at 42,801.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.7 per cent to 18,196.22.

US jobs data for February showed the country’s economy added 151,000 jobs last month, up from January’s revised 125,000 figure, but fewer than analysts estimates as unemployment ticked higher.

Analysts described the report as unspectacular but good enough to suggest the labour market is not weakening precipitously.

But O’Hare said investors are readjusting their views of the coming period in light of other disappointing economic reports.

“The market is rethinking its growth outlook,” he said. “Some of that is the tariffs. Some of that is the work around DOGE. Some of it is in the data itself.”

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Wall St opens lower as jobs data disappoints; Powell's remarks awaited

Among individual companies, Costco slumped 6.1 per cent following disappointing earnings that sparked unease about the wholesaler’s exposure to tariffs. Walmart also fell.

But Broadcom surged 8.6 per cent after strong results boosted enthusiasm about the company’s work in artificial intelligence. AFP