Stocks Ended Higher after Solid Jobs Report

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday on a stronger-than-expected February jobs report, but major benchmarks snapped multiweek winning streaks as oil prices weighed on markets over the past five sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 44.79 points, or 0.21%, to 20,902.98. The S&P 500 gained 7.73 points, or 0.33%, to 2,372.60. The Nasdaq Composite rose 22.92 points, or 0.39%, to 5,861.73. For the week, the Dow finished down 0.5%. The S&P 500 declined 0.4% for the week, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%.

Oil prices suffered from a fifth straight session decline on Friday to tally a weekly loss of just over 9%, settling at their lowest level since late November. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 79 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $48.49 a barrel. May Brent crude shed 82 cents, or 1.6% to $51.37 a barrel.

A second straight month of robust hiring pointed on Friday to a U.S. economy healthy enough for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week and to signal the likelihood of additional rate hikes ahead.