S&P 500 hits record, Dow rises as weak US jobs data eases Fed rate fears

U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, with the S&P 500 at a record, after weaker-than-expected July jobs data cooled expectations for a September Federal Reserve rate hike. The S&P rose 0.6% to 7,756.44, the Nasdaq gained 1.3% to 26,690.62, and the Dow added 151 points to 54,036.43. Nonfarm payrolls fell 23,000 in July, versus forecasts of about 80,000 growth. All three major indexes posted their best weekly gains since April, boosted by semiconductor rebounding and strong earnings from Atlassian, Cloudflare, and Airbnb.