Friday's early afternoon trade: Apple, tech stocks lead Wall Street rally

Apple and other technology stocks led a rally on Wall Street on Friday, after weaker-than-expected US jobs and wage growth data eased concerns about faster interest rate hikes. Apple jumped 3.9 percent to a record high of $183.80 after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in the iPhone maker. The S&P technology sector was up 1.64 percent, the biggest driver on the index.
The markets were off to a choppy start after data showed the US economy added 164,000 jobs in April, but missed estimates, while the unemployment rate dropped to near a 17-1/2-year low of 3.9 percent. The Labour Department's closely watched report showed wage growth of only 0.1 percent in April, also below expectations, easing concerns that inflation pressures were increasing.
"We have a jobs report that shows continued strength in the labour market, though without any real inflationary pressures through wages," said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist for Brown Brothers Harriman in New York. "It's sort of the Goldilocks economy, where there is enough strength in the labor market to allow the Fed to raise interest rates, but not enough to require them to do so."
After choppy futures trading following release of the data, Wall Street opened lower, before reversing course. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 bounced off their 200-day moving averages, a technical level that indicates long-term momentum. At 12:45 pm EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 285.76 points, or 1.19 percent, at 24,215.91, the S&P 500 was up 28.60 points, or 1.09 percent, at 2,658.33 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 106.67 points, or 1.50 percent, at 7,194.83. All the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, and 29 of the 30 Dow members were in the black.