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Equities moved higher on solid economic news last week. The Russell 2000 Index led with a gain of 0.77 percent, followed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq with returns of 0.66 percent, 0.61 percent and 0.48 percent, respectively.

SPDR Technology (XLK) increased 1.52 percent on the week thanks to a strong rally on Friday. SPDR Financial (XLF) rose 1.42 percent. SPDR Energy (XLE) was a big winner though, rising 6.96 percent.

The ISM manufacturing PMI climbed to 61.2 percent in May, beating economist forecasts. The ISM services PMI hit 64.0 percent, also up from April and better than expected.

Motor vehicle sales hit an annualized pace of 17.0 million in May, down from April’s 18.5 million pace.

Initial jobless claims fell below 400,000 for the week ending May 29, the first drop below that level since the lockdowns began. The non-farm payrolls report showed 559,000 net new jobs in May, below forecasts but nearly double April’s total. The unemployment rate tumbled from 6.1 percent to 5.8 percent. Extended unemployment benefits are still weighting on results as the economy should be generating closer to 1 million new jobs given the reopening. Additionally, average hourly earnings should be growing slowly or even declining as low wage workers return to the labor force. Instead, average wages climbed 0.5 percent.

The bond market ignored the spike in wages and focused on the weaker jobs number. The 10-year Treasury yield declined from 1.62 percent on Thursday to 1.56 percent on Friday. The U.S. dollar also fell on Friday, but the U.S. Dollar Index still finished the week with an increase of 0.17 percent.

Higher energy prices helped push iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) higher this week. It gained 2.64 percent. The ending of sanctions on Russia over the Nordstream 2 energy pipeline helped send VanEck Russia (RSX) up 3.47 percent.

Stocks were up broadly on Friday following positive economic data, with the three major indexes closing in the positive. The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq 0.1 percent and Dow 0.2 percent. The Russell 2000 Index lost 0.18 percent over the day. For the week, the Dow gained 0.9 percent, the S&P 500 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq 2.1 percent.

Although the S&P 500 and Dow posted overall gains for May, the Nasdaq fell 1.5 percent, which was its first negative month over the past seven. This was the eighth consecutive month of gains for the small-cap Russell 2000 Index as investors flocked to cyclical stocks.

Salesforce (CRM) was a frontrunner for the Dow on Friday with an increase of 5.43 percent. With the company’s latest earnings report of 37.5 percent far exceeding the consensus expectations for last quarter, Salesforce demonstrated the resiliency of consumer demand for software products.

SPDR Technology (XLK) increased 0.36 percent on Friday. While Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) shares gained 0.15 percent and 0.38 percent, respectively. Facebook (FB) shares decreased 1.21 percent, Amazon (AMZN) 0.22 percent and Netflix (NFLX) 0.21 percent.

The Federal Reserve’s standard benchmark for inflation tracking, the core personal consumption expenditures index, posted an elevated reading of 3.1 percent for year-over-year price increases. This marked the highest level in nearly three decades.

The U.S. Dollar Index inched higher on Friday by 0.1 percent over the day to 90.03.

The 10-year Treasury note yield closed down on Friday at 1.592 percent.

On Friday, gold futures (GC=F) rose 0.41 percent to $1,906.30 an ounce. Silver futures (SI=F) were also up 0.45 percent to $28.07 an ounce.

WTI crude oil prices decreased by $0.53 to close at $66.32 a barrel. SPDR Energy (XLE) increased 0.19 percent on the day.

Friday’s report from the Commerce Department revealed that consumer spending rose by 0.5 percent in April. Consumer spending continues to drive the economic recovery while also contributing to recent inflation increases even after the initial boost from March’s direct stimulus payments.

The slight dip in University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index from 88.3 in April to May’s 82.9 reading reflects the impact of inflation concerns on consumer outlook.  However, the impact was blunted by widespread consumer optimism from mass vaccination progress and sustained spending activity.

At this point, approximately 97 percent of the S&P 500 reporting companies have announced their first-quarter earnings, which are up by 50 percent on the year, the fastest pace in the last 11 years. Positive earnings reports have improved analysts’ forecasts for the year’s earnings growth from 22 percent to 34 percent.

Markets will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Manufacturing and services sector activity levels are due this week. On Friday morning, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak on central bank policy. Later that day, the May payroll data will be out after last month’s unexpectedly low number of new jobs added.