Investing.com - Just a little patience was enough to send stocks soaring Friday.
Wall Street, already buoyed by an exceptionally strong nonfarm payrolls report, shot up in morning trading as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the FOMC would be "patient" on monetary policy as it assesses data.
The S&P 500 rose 66 points, 2.71%, while the Dow increased 603 points, or 2.66%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 212 points, or 3.27%.
Powell, appearing at a roundtable with former Fed chiefs Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke, also said that the Fed is able to shift on policy as needed and can change its balance sheet plans when warranted. He added that he would not resign if asked by President Donald Trump.
Upbeat nonfarm payrolls data gave the Federal Reserve a potential reason to increase interest rates. Average hourly wages were also up more than expected.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was among the top gainers after the morning bell, gaining 3.2%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) rose 3.2%. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was up 3.1% after the company said it would begin delivering its Model 3 to China in March.
Meanwhile Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) jumped 6.6%, while Micron (NASDAQ:MU) surged 3.9%. Flex Pharma (NASDAQ:FLKS) soared 54% after it announced a merger agreement with Salarius Pharmaceuticals.