U.S. stocks mixed, as strong jobs data support 2015 rate hike

Investing.com - Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Friday, as optimistic U.S. jobs data sent strong indications that the Federal Reserve could lift interest rates at some point this year.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday morning that non-farm payrolls for the month of May soared by 280,000, far exceeding analysts' low end of forecasts for a 220,000 gain. Private payrolls increased by 262,000 in May, as professional business services added 63,000 positions on the month. The labor market also added 17,000 construction position, following a significant gain of 35,000 a month earlier.
Stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index fell mildly during a choppy session, while the NASDAQ Composite index inched up bolstered by gains in the energy industry. Energy stock gained more than 0.75% on the session after OPEC decided to lower its production ceiling below 30 million barrels per day at a meeting in Vienna.
The Dow lost 56.12 or 0.31%, to close at 17,849.46, finishing down for the week. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, gained 9.33 or 0.18% to 5,068.46.
The S&P 500 lost 3.01 or 0.14% to 2,092.83, as six of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Telecommunications and Utilities sectors lagged, each closing down by more than 1.25% while stocks in the Energy and Financials sectors led.
The top performer on the Dow was JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which gained 1.09 or 1.64% to 67.42. The worst performer was Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 0.87 or 1.81% to 47.23.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN), which rose 20.42 or 3.94% to 539.04 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said its experimental drug aimed at lowering LDL cholesterol was generally well-accepted. The worst performer was VimpelCom (NASDAQ:VIP), which fell 0.39 or 6.53% to 5.58. VIP finished just ahead of Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) Group PLC (LONDON:VOD), which lost 0.66 or 1.75% to 37.05.
Regeneron was also the top performer on the S&P 500, ahead of Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION), which gained 1.62 or 3.44% to 31.85 days after announcing a comprehensive corporate restructuring plan earlier this week. The worst performer was Altria Group (NYSE:MO), which dropped 1.67 or 3.35 to 48.21.