U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed on Friday as investors eyed developments in Greece and weighed a bond yield rally on a strong jobs report, which supports the case for a rate hike this year. (Tweet This)
"The stock market's resilience to the increase in bond yields makes the Fed all the more likely to feel confident about edging the Fed funds rate up in September," said John Lonski, chief economist at Moody's. "The equity market is probably aware of the fact that it was a great number but ... 65 percent of the jobs created were limited in income growth opportunities."
Optimism about U.S. economic growth mostly outweighed concerns about tightening as stocks repeatedly attempted gains after opening in the red. The Nasdaq outperformed, closing higher, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average ended lower below their 50-day moving averages.
Read MoreFast food nation: What's driving the jobs numbers
The major indices closed mildly lower for the week, while the Dow transports posted 2.5 percent gains for its first positive week in four.
"The positive is you do need economic growth to have earnings growth," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management. "The second quarter wasn't feeling extremely strong by any means. I feel a little better (since) you'll feel a little more firmness in the market from that standpoint. The next milestone is the retail sales number next week."
Financials, direct beneficiaries of higher interest rates, gained about half a percent on Friday as one of the few advancing sectors in the S&P 500. Leading blue chips gains, JPMorgan Chase closed up 1.6 percent for a new record and Goldman Sachs closed at a 52-week high. The S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) closed up nearly 2 percent, for a 3.56 percent weekly gain.
Utilities, which are most negatively correlated to higher rates, plunged more than 1.5 percent to weigh on the S&P.
Marc Chaikin, CEO of Chaikin Analytics, said a rate hike "is a huge boost to the bottom line" for financials, while gains in the energy sector on Friday were driven by signs of economic improvement amid stabilization in oil prices.
European stocks closed lower after the strong U.S. jobs report. Also pressuring stocks was Greece's delay of a debt payment to the IMF originally due Friday. The ATHEX Composite fell nearly 5 percent.
"I would call it a disappointment, and not an impending crisis," Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, said of the lack of resolution on Greek debt.
After the local market close, Greece Prime Minister Alexis Greece offered a realistic proposal that is in line with creditors' needs. He added that the country needs a deal that puts an end to "Grexit" talk and that doesn't combine austerity with debt relief.
It "wouldn't surprise me to see a late day selloff to the lows as traders don't want to remain long over the weekend with Greece hanging out there," said Lance Roberts, general partner at STA Wealth Management.
Read MoreStrong jobs report says rate hikes are coming
U.S. nonfarm payrolls totaled 280,000 in May, beating expectations, with unemployment slightly above forecasts at 5.5 percent.
"This is the best number we've seen this year," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. He and several other analysts said the beat did not put June back on the table but that September was likely.
Other key metrics in the report also encouraged analysts. Average hourly earnings increased by 8 cents, also beating expectations. The labor force participation rate gained to 62.9 percent.
"All of those moved exactly in the right direction," said Philip Noftsinger, president of CBIZ Payroll. "The economy continues to show signs of growing strength and stability and a lack of vulnerability."
Read MoreRising interest rates: What it means for you
Futures edged lower after the key employment report continued to show strength in the labor market while growth in most parts of the economy remains moderate.
"From a stock market perspective this is nothing that should indicate a significant drop back," said Stephen Freedman, CIO Head of U.S. Thematic and Sustainable Investing Strategy at UBS Wealth Management. "I don't think this (report) is very game changing—just strengthens the case for September."
Treasury yields traded slightly below session highs. The 8:30 a.m. ET release of the jobs report sent yields surging, with the jumping above 0.747 percent and the U.S. 10-year yield hitting an intraday high of 2.442 percent, its highest level since October 6.
The U.S. dollar extended gains to trade about 1 percent higher against major currencies, while the euro briefly fell below $1.11 and the Japanese yen held near a multi-year high of 125.6 yen against the dollar.
In an early afternoon speech, New York Fed President William Dudley said the second quarter rebound is relatively muted but that a Federal Reserve interest rate hike seems appropriate later this year. He added that market turbulence is likely once a rate hike begins.
"I think the data seals a September rate hike," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
"Valuations are high and the adjustment of the yield curve now is likely to be negative for equities in the short-term," he said earlier."It's going to be a bumpy trading day for stocks."
Crude oil settled up $1.13, or 1.95 percent, at $59.13 a barrel. Oil fluctuated around the flatline for much of the day after initially spiking on news OPEC will maintain output at 30 million barrels per day for another six months, keeping a glut in markets.
U.S. April consumer credit rose $20.54 billion, above expectations but slightly below march's $21.35 billion.
In its annual assessment of the U.S. economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday the Fed should delay a rate hike until the first half of next year until there are signs of a rebound in wages and inflation.
"I think the consistency of the improvement across (U.S. economic) indicators is encouraging but 'robust' is still too strong," said Tara Sinclair, chief economist at Indeed.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday as volatility in bond markets and a lack of resolution on Greece kept investors on edge ahead of Friday's jobs report.
Cybersecurity stocks Palo Alto Networks, FireEye, and Fortinet surged about 3 percent or more following news of the massive cyber attack that compromised the information of about four million federal employees.The PureFunds ISE Cybersecurity ETF (HACK) closed up 3.36 percent.
Read MoreEarly movers: GPS, ZUMZ, CVC, NDLS, WMT, MON & more
DreamWorks closed up 3.1 percent after briefly leaping more than 7.5 percent on news the stock to "buy" from "hold" at Stifel Nicolaus, citing positive meetings with investor management.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 56.12 points, or 0.31 percent, at 17,849, with Verizon the greatest decliner and JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs leading advancers.
The closed down 3.01 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,092.83, with telecommunications leading seven sectors lower and energy leading advancers.
The Nasdaq closed up 9.33 points, or 0.18 percent, at 5,068.46.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 14. The index posted its second consecutive week of gains.
Gold futures settled down $7.10 at $1,168.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
About eight stocks declined for every seven advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of 783 million and a composite volume of 3.2 billion in the close.
High-frequency trading accounted for 49 percent of June-to-date's daily trading volume of about 6.1 billion shares, according to TABB Group. During the peak levels of high-frequency trading in 2009, about 61 percent of 9.8 billion of average daily shares traded were executed by high-frequency traders.
—Reuters contributed to this report.