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TGIF AND THEN SOME: WALL STREET LIMPS TO THE END OF A BRUTAL WEEK

Wall Street staggered to the end of a bruising week with a could-have-been-worse jobs report and reassuring words from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell helping the indexes limp across the finish line in positive territory.

This caps a week of on-again, off-again, paused-again, exempt-again tariff announcements from the White House, which tossed gasoline on the fires of investor anxiety.

All three major U.S. stock indexes lost ground on the week, with the S&P 500 .SPX closing the book on its biggest weekly plunge in six months; a week in which the Nasdaq confirmed it entered a correction in mid-December.

The session got off to an unpromising start after the Labor Department's largely inline February jobs report also revealed signs of weakness in a once-solid jobs market, notably a closely watched indicator often called "real unemployment" surged to 8%, its highest reading in three-and-a-half years.

Powell assured attendees at a University of Chicago Booth School of Business forum that he acknowledged heightened uncertainties in households and businesses, but the economy is in solid shape and until the effects of Trump's policies are known, the central bank has sufficient breathing room to stand pat on interest rate cuts.

"I think it's slightly misleading to say the economy’s in a good place because it’s clearly slowing and inflation is clearly still an issue," Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors tells Reuters. "And it could get worse depending on what happens with tariffs and so forth."

Indeed, a Reuters poll of economists reveals risks to American, Canadian and Mexican economies are piling up amid the quotidian and contradictory announcements emanating from the Oval Office with respect to its chaotic trade policy.

Chips .SOX enjoyed a bit of a rebound, rising 3.2% and outperforming the broader market.

Utilities .SPLRCU, energy .SPNY, tech .SPLRCT, industrials .SPLRCI, and real estate .SPLRCR also outdid the broader S&P 500 on the day.

Here's your closing snapshot:

(Stephen Culp)

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FOR FRIDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR BULLS DOWN IN THE DUMPS - AAII - CLICK HERE

U.S. STOCKS PARE LOSSES WITH POWELL REMARKS - CLICK HERE

UBS SAYS TO STAY IN STOCKS, BUT CONSIDER HEDGES - CLICK HERE

INVESTORS RIDE THE CHINESE DRAGON AMID U.S. TARIFF WOES - CLICK HERE

COULD'VE BEEN WORSE: A JOBS REPORT DEEP DIVE - CLICK HERE

U.S. STOCKS FIGHT TO STABILIZE, AWAIT POWELL REMARKS - CLICK HERE

U.S. STOCK FUTURES CHURN, YIELDS FALL, AFTER LATEST JOBS DATA - CLICK HERE

EUROPEAN BANK RALLY 'FASTER AND STRONGER' THAN PREDICTED - UBS - CLICK HERE

MAG 7? MORE LIKE 'LAG 7'... - CLICK HERE

EUROPEAN STOCKS FALL ON U.S. TRADE POLICY CONFUSION - CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES LOWER AS TRUMP FLIP-FLOPS ON TARIFFS - CLICK HERE

PAYROLLS AND POWELL PROVIDE FOCAL POINT - CLICK HERE