Wall Street reverses to end higher, bond yields steady ahead of US jobs report, holiday

U.S. stocks reversed an earlier sell-off to close higher on Thursday, and Treasury yields steadied, as investors digested weak labor market data ahead of a U.S. jobs report, seeking signs the Federal Reserve could pause on rate hikes.

All three major U.S. stock indexes bounced back, turning green by early afternoon, with megacap momentum stocks putting the Nasdaq out front.

Even so, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the holiday-shortened week lower after three weeks of gains.

The blue-chip Dow gained on the week.

Economic data on Thursday suggested the U.S. labor market is feeling the effects of the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes designed to cool the economy and curb inflation.

On Friday, a market holiday, the Labor Department is due to release its March employment report, and market participants will have the weekend to digest the data before Monday’s opening bell.

“Markets are a bit oversold, especially if we’re looking at the Fed being close to pausing rate hikes,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist Ingalls & Snyder in New York. “The market has marched higher, and volume has dried up a bit on the verge of a holiday weekend.”

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