Investing.com -- Stocks on the U.S. equities markets snapped back on Friday, rallying from Thursday's massive sell-off to open the start of May trading on a strong note.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index all moved broadly higher by more than 1%, following a relatively modest performance in the month of April. The Dow gained 183.54 or 1.03% to close the week at 18,024.06, while the NASDAQ rose 63.97 or 1.29% to 5,005.39, ending a four-day losing streak.
The S&P, meanwhile, gained 22.78 or 1.09% to 2,108.29, as stocks in the Basic Materials, Consumer Services and Technology sectors led. For the session, nine out of 10 sectors closed higher with only Telecommunication stocks in the red.
Social media stocks remained in focus, following disappointing earnings by Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) and LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) earlier in the week. LinkedIn, the professional online networking site, plunged 46.92 or 18.61% to 205.21, while Twitter dropped 1.12 or 2.87% to 37.84 on Friday. At one point in Friday's session, all three stocks were down more than 20% on the week.
The top performer on the Dow was Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rebounded after posting its longest losing streak in three and a half months on Thursday as reports surfaced of defects in some components of the new iWatch. Apple gained 3.40 or 2.72% to 128.55, finishing just ahead of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 0.87 or 2.67% to 33.42.
Shares in Intel moved higher, amid a Reuters report that it reached a standstill agreement with fellow semiconductor company Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR) that expires on Friday. Upon expiration, Intel will have the option of launching a hostile takeover bid, according to Reuters. Altera, the top performer on the NASDAQ and S&P 500, gained 4.08 or 9.79% to 45.76.
The worst performer on the Dow was Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), following comparatively low quarterly profits due to crashing oil prices. Chevron, which fell 2.16 or 1.94% to 108.90, reported net income of 2.57 billion or 1.37 per share versus quarterly income in 2014 of 4.51 billion or 2.36 per share. Analysts had forecast earnings per share of 0.79.
On the NASDAQ, Altera finished just ahead of NXP Semiconductors which gained 4.87 or 5.07% to 100.99. The worst performer on the NASDAQ was VimpelCom (NASDAQ:VIP), which lost 0.21 or 3.70% to 5.46.
Shares in Tesla were flat at 226.03, one day after CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company's Powerwall home battery at a press conference in California. Tesla's 10 kWH battery pack will hit the markets for a cost of $3,500, excluding a nine-year service agreement that is required with some of the purchases. First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR), though, stumbled on Friday amid concerns of lower membership following the Tesla rollout. First Solar, the worst performer on the S&P 500, fell 2.33 or 3.90% to 57.34.