NEW YORK:

Wall Street stock indexes closed firmer on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 hitting record highs, as new data showing US labour market weakness boosted expectations for interest rate cuts as early as September.

The rally was fuelled by mega-cap stocks such as Microsoft which rose nearly 1.5% to end at a record high.

Meta Platforms also scored an all-time closing high, gaining around 5.9% to push the information technology sector to a record high.

S&P 500 communication services was the top performing sector, reaching its highest level since 2000.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.87 points, or 0.17%, to close at 39,375.87. The S&P 500 gained 30.17 points, or 0.54%, at 5,567.19 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 164.46 points, or 0.90%, to 18,352.76.

For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.95%, the Nasdaq rose 3.5% pct, and the Dow climbed 0.66%.

Labour Department data showed US jobs growth slowed marginally in June, and the unemployment rate rose to an over 2-1/2-year high, while wage gains slowed.

Investors expect the data could stir more active debate on rate cuts when the Federal Reserve meets later this month. Odds of the US central bank easing in September jumped to 79% from 66% seen before the data, CME’s FedWatch Tool showed.

“This report puts the Fed in a comfortable spot,” said Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

“If this continues next month, with no increases in hourly wages, then I think we’ll see a rate cut in September and another one in December.”