Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose considerably on Friday as an optimistic March jobs report provided signals of an improving domestic economy, while investors shrugged off sharp declines in crude futures demonstrating indications that equities could be on the verge of decoupling from volatile oil prices.
On Friday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor said nonfarm payrolls rose by 215,000 in March, slightly above consensus estimates of 210,000, building off gains of 245,000 from the previous month. Notably, average hourly earnings jumped by 0.3% one month after slumping by 0.1% in February. The labor force participation rate also increased by 0.1 to 63%, while the unemployment rate rose mildly to 5.0%, hovering near eight-year lows.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 107.66 or 0.61% to 17,792.75, while the S&P 500 Composite index added 13.04 or 0.63% to 2,072.78, kicking off the second quarter on the right foot. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, rose 44.69 or 0.92% to 4,914.54 after receiving a considerable boost from the slumping biotech sector. On the S&P 500, eight of 10 industries closed in the green, as stocks in the Health Care, Technology and Consumer Goods sectors led. Stocks in the energy industry lagged, plunging more than 1.45% on the session.
Volatility remained low, as the S&P 500 VIX index fell roughly 3% to an intraday low of 13.41, its lowest level year to date.
The top performer on the Dow was Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which added 2.99 or 1.90% to 159.97. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), one of the world's largest banks, is coming off a disappointing quarter when it tumbled by more than 10%, ending the period as one of the worst stocks on the Dow. The worst performer was Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which fell 0.82 or 0.86% to 3.84. Energy stocks struggled on Friday after reports surfaced that Saudi Arabia will not agree to a comprehensive production freeze later this month unless Iran also pledges to cap its output.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN), which surged 47.55 or 13.19% to 407.99. For the session, Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc (NASDAQ:BMRN), Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) and Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) also jumped more than 2%, as the NASDAQ Biotech Sector ETF rallied sharply. It came amid indications of a spike in long call options during the second quarter, after the sector plunged nearly 28% over the first three months of the year. The worst performer was Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR), which fell 4.04 or 5.68% to 67.14, one day after Chinese insurer Angbang dropped a $14 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE:HOT). The abandoned bid clears the way for the Starwood board to vote on a $13.2 billion merger with Marriott on April 8.
Shares in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) jumped 7.72 or 3.36% to 237.49, following the successful launch of its new Model 3 electric car on Thursday night. On Friday, the company announced that it has received 200,000 orders in the first 24 hours since the car entered the market.
"You will not be able to buy a better car for $35,000," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during Thursday's unveiling of the model.
Regeneron was also the top performer on the S&P 500, just ahead of Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which added 3.05 or 4.98% to 64.33. Shares in Regeneron ended the week up roughly 9%, due primarily to reports that its late-stage Eczema drug has met expectations. The worst performer was Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), which slumped 0.28 or 6.80% to 3.84. Shares in the Oklahoma City-based oil and natural gas company are down more than 70% over the last year.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 1,600 to 1,481 margin.