NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
U.S. tech stocks bounced off initial losses as a blowout monthly jobs number confirmed an economic recovery is on track.
After 30 minutes of trading, theNasdaq composite (up 6.50 to 1944.24, Charts) added 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average (down 28.80 to 10212.37, Charts) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (down 4.00 to 1109.99, Charts) index crisscrossed the breakeven point.
Bond prices tumbled and the dollar rose.
Stocks have been under pressure all week -- and have been rangebound the last few -- on concerns that interest rates would be rising soon. Stock markets don't like higher rates. The fear is that a big jump in interest rates could hinder the economic recovery and put a serious dent in corporate profits and stock prices.
Commentary from the Federal Reserve earlier in the week confirmed that rates would rise this year, although no timeline was given. The Fed also said that the risks of inflation and deflation -- when prices start falling too quickly -- was basically balanced.
Friday's monthly employment report was clearly a positive for the labor market and the economic recovery, although it confirmed for many Wall Streeters that rates will be rising soon, and perhaps more aggressively than had been thought.
Employers added 288,000 jobs to their payrolls in April, far more than the 173,000 jobs economists surveyed by Reuters expected. In addition, March's already strong payrolls number was revised higher, going to 337,000 from an initial read of 308,000.
The unemployment rate in April fell to 5.6 percent from 5.7 percent in March. Economists had expected the unemployment rate wouldn't budge.
Treasury prices tumbled after the report, with the 10-year note losing more than a point in price, pushing its yield up to 4.74 percent from 4.60 late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction. The dollar rallied versus the yen and euro.
Among commodities markets, Brent crude oil futures gained 58 cents to $36.64 per barrel in London. COMEX gold lost $5.60 to $382.80 an ounce.
In international trading, Asian markets closed mostly lower, while European markets fell at midday there.
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