US stocks edge higher as investors weigh what a solid jobs report means for Fed rate hikes

• US stocks rose Friday following a largely solid March jobs report.
• The US economy added 431,000 job, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%.

Stocks rose Friday as investors started trading in April with a largely solid unemployment report for March that is seen keeping the Federal Reserve on track for further policy tightening.

The S&P 500 was modestly higher after the Labor Department said the US economy added 431,000 jobs in March, which was below the forecast for 490,000 new payrolls.

"There was a large upward revision in the February numbers and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.6% resulting in an overall report that was in line with expectations and will not affect future Fed policy," said Jay Hatfield, portfolio manager of the ICAP ETF, in a note to Insider.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,547.24, up 0.37%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,777.06, up 0.28% (98.71 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,298.10, up 0.55%

Friday's rally comes after the S&P 500 on Thursday finished the first quarter with its first quarterly loss since March 2020.

"We expect that the stock market will be range-bound in the 4,400-4,600 range over the next few weeks as we await first-quarter earnings season," said Hatfield. "We expect earnings season to be a positive catalyst for stocks as most companies are benefiting from the strong economy and the wind-down of the pandemic."

Around the markets, Russia is on pace to rake in $321 billion from energy exports this year as trade partners continue buying its oil and gas.

The SEC said crypto platforms that hold customers' stashes must treat them as their own assets and liabilities.

Oil prices continued to fall after President Joe Biden announced releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.8% to $99.44 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, lost 0.6% at $104.12.

Gold prices fell 1% to $1,935.20 per ounce. The 10-year yield climbed 8 basis points to 2.42%.

Bitcoin fell 3.5% to $45,380.95.