Oil Prices Extend Gains As Markets Weigh Strong US Jobs Data

Stocks were mixed Friday as markets weighed a surprisingly good US jobs report against concerns over tightening monetary policy, while oil prices pushed closer to $100 a barrel.

The United States added an unexpectedly robust 467,000 jobs in January, according to Labor Department data that also significantly raised employment increases for November and December.

While the report suggests health in the world's largest economy, another big rise in 10-year US Treasury note yields Friday focused concerns on expectations for multiple Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year.

Worries about monetary tightening weighed on the Dow, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both finished higher.

All three major US indices finished the week in positive territory, with the S&P 500 winning 1.5 percent.

Earlier, European bourses had retreated a day after the European Central Bank opened the door to hiking interest rates in light of inflation.

Next week's US consumer price index report could be another source of volatility, analysts warned.

"Persistent inflation, like a house fire, would force the Fed to barrel in and hose down inflation without regard for the upholstery, in this case equities," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management.

Oil prices kept climbing, with both the global and US benchmark contracts topping $93 a barrel on a combination of factors that include cold weather in the United States and uncertainty over Ukraine.

"With demand standing resilient, it appears stronger supply will have to be the answer for calming market prices, but new production is notoriously slow in reacting to changing conditions," said Robbie Fraser of Schneider Electric.

"While OPEC+ continues to slowly increase exports, US shale continues a slow pace of additions, even as prices are well beyond breakeven levels for all key regions."

Among individual companies, Amazon surged 13.5 percent as the company reported stronger-than-expected results despite higher labor, sourcing and delivery costs, with revenues jumping nine percent to $137.4 billion in the fourth quarter.

Snap was another big winner, soaring nearly 60 percent after the firm behind messaging app Snapchat reported its first-ever quarterly profit.

But Ford slumped nearly 10 percent as the automaker's fourth-quarter profits lagged analyst estimates, with the company citing supply chain problems as a factor.