The February employment report showed significant job growth, which beat the forecast for 210,000 new jobs. Hourly wages, however, came in on target, rising 0.3 percent or 5 cents an hour to $16.47. The unemployment rate in February edged up to 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent in January, but these numbers are acquired through a separate poll.

Undeniable strength in the labor market has put pressure on bonds, as a tight labor market can lead to wage inflation. This possibility has the Treasury markets pricing in more Fed rate hikes, and today for the first time, Fed funds futures are pointing to the possibility of three 25-basis-point increases by July.

In separate reports, wholesale inventories for January rose 0.1 percent -- far lower than the 1-percent increase that was forecast. Sales, however, rose 1 percent. This leaves a tight inventory situation, which could lead to an increase in manufacturing. And the U.S. Treasury reported a $119 billion deficit for February. It was noted, however, that the federal government does not take in much money during that month.

Wall Street rallies on jobs

Wall Street rallied on the employment report, which was deemed “just right.” Some of the biggest winners of the session were some of the biggest losers earlier in the week. Among those closing up were commodities, semiconductors, home builders and utilities, which all suffered due to concerns about high interest rates. A decline in oil prices, which closed below $60 a barrel, also supported the equity markets. All three of the major indexes posted good gains, and more importantly, they held those gains from open to close. The Dow Jones, however, was the only index to close in positive territory for the week.

Gains in the Dow were widespread with only two components -- Caterpillar and Pfizer -- closing in negative territory. Only Honeywell posted a gain in excess of 2 percent, but there were 14 components that added in more than 1 percent, with American Express and Verizon leading that group.

The Nasdaq ended a long string of losses with help from gains by a number of smaller companies, many of them biotechs. Semiconductors, which have dragged on the Nasdaq of late, provided a positive force late in the day when it looked like a sell-off was in progress.

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