Friday Afternoon Cheat Sheet: 3 Stories That Moved Markets

The U.S. equity markets punctuated a historic week with strong gains on Friday, fueled by a better-than-expected labor market report.

At the close: DJIA: +0.47%, S&P 500: +0.45%, NASDAQ: +0.38%.

Here are three stories that helped shape the markets on Friday:

1) If you’re not tired of it, then you’re sick of it — and if you’re not sick of it, then you just don’t care anymore. One week has passed since Sequestration Day, and the United States is still digesting the fallout that is expected to get worse as time goes on. Earlier in the week, the House of Representatives passed a measure that would ensure the federal government remained funded throughout the rest of the fiscal year. The Democratically-controlled Senate is expected to make edits to the bill.

“I think this whole thing will come to a crescendo this summer, and we’re going to have to talk to each other to get an agreement about how to delay a debt crisis, how to save this country from a fiscal train wreck that’s coming,” said Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), who is chairman of the House Budget Committee.