U.S. stocks rise ahead of critical Friday jobs report

Investing.com - Investing.com -- Stocks on U.S. equities markets edged up, as Iran and Western leaders agreed on the framework of a nuclear pact while investors braced for the release of Friday's critical jobs report.

All three major indices closed slightly higher on Thursday, as the markets ended a short week of trading ahead of a three-day weekend for the Easter holiday. There have only been a handful of instances over the last two decades when the markets have remained closed for Good Friday on the same day when the U.S. employment report has been released.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 65.06 or 0.37% to 17,763.24, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 6.71 or 0.14% to close the week at 4,886.94.

The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, gained 7.27 or 0.35% to 2,066.96 led by gains in the Telecommunications, Consumer Service and Consumer Goods sectors. Stocks in the Technology sector lagged, which ended the day as the only sector on the index to close in the red.

Shares in major energy companies fell slightly on Thursday, after a preliminary deal was reached to curtail Iran's Nuclear Program. As part of the deal economic and financial sanctions will be eased against Iran, raising concerns that a glut of Iranian oil could be released into an already saturated global market. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) fell 0.16 or 0.19% to 84.30, while Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) posted late gains to erase earlier losses.

The top performer on the Dow was Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which gained 1.63 or 1.44% to 114.76. The worst performer was Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which dropped 0.43 or 1.06% to 40.29 on the 40th anniversary of the founding of the company on Thursday. McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) also lost 0.48% to close at 95.83, one day after the company announced plans to raise minimum wage to $10.00 by 2016 for employees at its corporate-owned locations.

The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA), which rose 1.24 or 4.01% to 32.15 after the TV programmer reached a TV ratings and automotive segmentation agreement with Portland-based Rentrak Corporation (NASDAQ:RENT), a media measurement company. The worst performer, meanwhile, was American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which fell 1.27 or 2.51% to 49.18, following mounting concerns with an oversupply of passenger seats. During the first quarter American Airlines' revenue per seat flown per mile declined, according to a report from Bloomberg. The measure is one of the most closely-watched estimates by airlines industry insiders. American Airlines closed as the worst performer on the NASDAQ for the second consecutive session.

The top performer on the S&P 500 was CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX), which gained 6.40 or 9.36% to 74.79 after beating an earnings estimates following strong used car sales. The worst performer was Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI), which fell 4.40 or 6.60% to 67.45 after the telecommunication company reportedly failed to find a private equity firm to purchase it, according to a report from Bloomberg.

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