Wall Street gains after weak jobs data, Intel surges 7.5%, GM slips 3.6%, mortgage lenders rally

Major Wall Street stock market indices gained on Friday as investors looked over a weaker-than-expected jobs report.

A Labor Department update revealed that the US economy added only 50,000 new jobs in December. Meanwhile, the official unemployment rate was 4.4%, which was a bit lower than what many financial experts had predicted for the month.

Market participants were also closely watching for a major decision from the Supreme Court on the broad taxes on imported goods, known as tariffs, which were imposed by US President Donald Trump.

The court's decision is expected to have a significant impact on trade and the overall economy as the new year begins.

As of 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% higher.

At 09:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153.49 points, or 0.31%, to 49,419.60, the S&P 500 gained 25.42 points, or 0.37%, to 6,946.88 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 88.49 points, or 0.38%, to 23,568.50.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.3 points, or 0.06%, to 49,234.81. The S&P 500 rose 6.4 points, or 0.09%, to 6,927.83​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 16.2 points, or 0.07%, to 23,496.211.

Among the S&P sectoral indices, all major sectors rose, with the utilities index leading gains with a 1.5% jump.

Key Stock Movers

Intel shares surged 7.5% after Trump said he had a "great meeting" with the chipmaker's chief executive officer, Lip-Bu Tan.

General Motors stock slipped 3.6% after the automaker said it would take a $6 billion charge to unwind some electric-vehicle investments.

Mortgage lenders rose after Trump said he is ordering his representatives to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to cut housing costs.

Shares of LoanDepot rallied 19%, Rocket Companies gained soared 6.1% and Opendoor Technologies surged 12.7%.

Vistra stock jumped 13% after Meta Platforms struck a deal to buy power from the company's nuclear plants.

Shares of Constellation Energy and Entergy rose 4% and 2%, respectively.

Crude Oil Oil prices rose on Friday on worries about Venezuela oil supply and potential disruption to Iran's output.

At 1359 GMT, Brent futures were up 50 cents, or 0.8%, to $62.49 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 51 cents, or 0.9%, to $58.27.

Both benchmarks climbed more than 3% on Thursday.

Civil unrest in Iran and concerns about the spread of the Russia-Ukraine war to Russian oil exports have increased supply worries.

Meanwhile, the White House is set to meet with oil companies and trading houses on Friday to discuss Venezuelan export deals.

Bullion Market

Gold prices edged higher on Friday as investors weighed weaker-than-expected US payrolls data along with broader policy and geopolitical uncertainty.

As of 9:33 a.m. ET (1433 GMT), Spot gold was up 0.2% at $4,485.73 per ounce. US gold futures for February delivery firmed 0.5% to $4,483.

Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26.

In other metals, spot silver gained 2% to $78.42 per ounce. Spot platinum rose 1% to $2,290.20 per ounce. Palladium climbed 2% to $1,831.18 per ounce.