US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Nasdaq 100 finishing at a record level. The Nasdaq Composite led the major indices with a gain of 1.19%, though after trading to an all-time high intraday, it settled back below that level. The broader S&P 500 also joined the move higher but remains about 1% below its all-time high close.

The September employment report gave buyers some encouragement Nonfarm payrolls rose just 29,000, below the 90,000 expected, easing concerns about another near-term Federal Reserve rate hike. Payroll figures carry that weight because hiring data is among the primary inputs the Federal Reserve weighs when setting interest rates. For stocks, the market focused on the potential for less additional tightening, even as slower hiring raises questions about growth.

Friday's gains helped repair some of the damage from earlier in the week. However, the weekly results still showed a divide: the Nasdaq indices finished higher, while the Dow, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 ended lower. The split partly reflects construction: the Nasdaq Composite spans all Nasdaq-listed stocks, the Nasdaq 100 holds the exchange's 100 largest non-financial companies — both with heavy technology weight — while the Dow tracks 30 large US names and the Russell 2000 is the small-cap benchmark.

The closing numbers

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: up 250.00 points, or 0.49%, at 51,182.11
• S&P 500: up 56.25 points, or 0.73%, at 7,722.71
• Nasdaq Composite: up 319.27 points, or 1.19%, at 27,190.86
• Russell 2000: up 26.27 points, or 0.94%, at 2,832.90
• Nasdaq 100: up 306.37 points, or 1.00%, at a record closing level of 30,807.93

For the week

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: down 1.26%
• S&P 500: down 0.26%
• Nasdaq Composite: up 0.45%
• Russell 2000: down 0.16%
• Nasdaq 100: up 0.65%

The Dow had a better day, but buyers still have work to do. Its weekly decline of 1.26% was the largest among the five indices. The S&P 500 and Russell 2000 came closer to erasing their weekly losses, but neither could cross the finish line into positive territory.

The Nasdaq indices did. Nvidia's near-record close added to the technology story — it traded to a new all-time intraday high — with the Nasdaq 100 extending its leadership. The chipmaker sits among the largest weights in the Nasdaq gauges, so its moves feed directly into their results. Friday's advance was broad across the major indices, but the weekly performance continued to favor technology.

A lesson for traders

A strong day and a strong week tell different stories. Friday gave buyers more control, but it did not erase the weekly losses across much of the market. Similarly, a record close is a bullish development, but traders still need to see follow-through. Can buyers sustain the move and attract buying on pullbacks? Or does the breakout lose momentum and fall back below the prior high? The S&P 500's roughly 1% gap to its own record close gives that test a concrete marker. The ability to get above a level and stay above it helps separate a lasting break from a failed attempt.