NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrials hit record highs on Friday, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq index jumped 1% after weak US jobs data eased worries about the Federal Reserve reducing its massive stimulus program anytime soon.

The Labour Department’s closely watched employment report showed US employers hired far fewer workers than expected in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by only 266,000 jobs last month after rising by 770,000 in March.

Highly valued stocks such as Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and Facebook Inc rose between 0.4% and 1.7%.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher in early afternoon trading, with a 1.3% rise in technology stocks leading the advance. Financials dropped 0.1%, with interest rate-sensitive shares of lenders Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc trading lower. The S&P 500 banks sector fell 0.4%.

At 12:02 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 161.58 points, or 0.47%, at 34,710.11, the S&P 500 was up 33.13 points, or 0.79%, at 4,234.75 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 174.79 points, or 1.28%, at 13,807.64.