The Dow Jones advanced 1.65%, the Nasdaq index rose 2.25% and the S&P 500 index rose 1.85%.

After four consecutive sessions of pullbacks, the market was poised for a rebound and relied on the monthly U.S. jobs report to get started.

Some 253,000 jobs were created in April in the United States, much more than the 180,000 announced by economists. The difference with the forecasts was put into perspective by the sharp downward revision of the previous two months (-149,000 in total).

The three-month average has risen from 333,000 in January to 222,000 currently. "So clearly, the labor market remains robust, but it's coming down," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.

"Today's (macroeconomic) numbers, with the rebound of the regional banks, brought relief that the current state of the economy is not that of a recession," said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones. "We're not even at a turning point."

On the banking front, confidence returned on Friday as it had disappeared, without warning, during another difficult week for regional institutions.

Presented as the latest weak link to date, the Californian PacWest has thus almost doubled in value on the session (+81.70%), which also saw the Phoenix (Arizona) Western Alliance brand recover (+49.23%), as well as that of Salt Lake City (Utah) Zions (+19.22%).

The momentum benefited the largest US banks, such as Wells Fargo (+3.32%) or Citigroup (+3.16%).

The operators nevertheless noted, in the employment report, that the average salary had increased faster than expected (+0.5% against +0.3%) over one month.

"The report stresses that even though the Fed signaled a pause (in its Wednesday announcement), further rate hikes cannot be ruled out if job creation and wage growth do not moderate with inflation," Oxford Economics said in a note.

The prospect of inflation that is slow to return to the nails has played on bond yields, which have tightened. The yield on 10-year US government bonds stood at 3.42%, against 3.37% the previous day at the close.

Wall Street was also well oriented by the results of Apple (+4.69%), Thursday after trading, which carried the giant to the apple and a good part of the technology sector with it.

The Cupertino (California) firm recorded a second consecutive decline in revenue, but exceeded market expectations, mainly thanks to its flagship product, the iPhone, which now accounts for 54% of the group's sales. Apple also announced a new share buyback program of up to $90 billion.

Ride-hailing platform Lyft slowed (-19.27%) after announcing forecasts below analysts' projections, despite a better-than-expected first quarter.

The entertainment group Warner Bros Discovery declined (-4.54%) after reporting a lower than expected turnover and a surprise loss. The Burbank, California-based company suffered from a slowdown in content sales and advertising. It should be noted, however, that the streaming activity has reached profitability.

The cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase soared (+18.33%), thanks to quarterly results above expectations, in a context deemed unfavorable to digital currencies.

The e-commerce site Shopify also shone (+8.25%), after the announcement of quarterly activity figures better than expected but also the dismissal of 20% of the workforce, less than a year after a first social plan that had eliminated 10% of positions.

© 2023 AFP