By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Friday, capping weekly gains, as concerns over conflict in Ukraine outweighed an upbeat jobs report.

A surprisingly stronger-than-expected jobs report lifted both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record levels, but rally proved to be short-lived.

The S&P 500 (SPX) ended the day 2.54 points, or 0.1%, lower at 1,881.14 and gained 1% over the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) lost 45.98 points, or 0.3% to 16,512.89, but still recorded a gain of 0.9% over the past week.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) finished the day 3.55 points, or 0.1%, lower at 4,123.90 and gained 1.2% over the week.

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"The headline number was much better than expected, confirming that a harsh winter slowed the economy down. But in the end, the solid gains in jobs growth did not matter, as an improvement was already priced in," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.

The U.S. generated 288,000 jobs in April--the biggest increase in more than two years--and the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, a strong performance that suggests the economy is accelerating after tepid first-quarter growth. The unemployment rate is the lowest since September 2008. However, the details of the report puzzled investors. The labor participation rate dropped sharply, while wage growth was flat, suggesting a bigger slack in the labor market.

Talking about market reaction in the afternoon, Anthony Valeri, investment strategist for LPL Financial, said traders wouldn't want to hold on to long positions going into the weekend after disturbing headlines of violence in Ukraine between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian factions.

LinkedIn plummets as earnings disappoint

On the corporate side, shares of LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) dropped 8.4% after the online networking service said late Thursday it swung to a loss of $13.32 million.

Ares Management (ARES) slid 2.1% to $18.60 on its first day of trading. The alternative lender priced its initial public offering of 11.4 million shares at $19 a common share. Ares plans to use the proceeds of the IPO to buy newly issued Ares Operating Group Units, to repay debt and to finance growth projects, it said.

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) slipped 2.4% after reports German drug maker Bayer AG is in exclusive talks to buy Merck's consumer-health care unit for $14 billion.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) shares rose 7.3%. after the company said late Thursday its first-quarter adjusted earnings rose to $2.32 a share, above analyst expectations.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) initially rose after the company's first-quarter earnings beat expectations, but reversed gains and closed 2.5%.

U.S.-listed shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) jumped 7.9% after the bank said Friday its first-quarter profit rose, as it attempts to reduce costs by focusing on its U.K. operations.

InvenSense Inc. (INVN) shares dropped 4.7% after the company said late Thursday it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss.

In other financial markets, European stock markets closed lower, while Asian bourses closed mixed.

Concerns about Ukraine reversed price moves in currency, fixed income and commodity markets.

The dollar(DXY) gave up its gains against the yen. Treasury prices swung mostly higher Friday as tensions in Ukraine mounted, recovering from sharp losses after a jobs report that indicated a bounceback in hiring. Gold(GCM4) prices settled higher, scoring their first gain in five session. Oil prices (CLM4) also settled higher, logging their first gains in three session.

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