Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading in New York City.
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U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after the all-important jobs data came in much stronger than economists expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 242 points higher, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1%.
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.
Friday’s advances mark a turn after mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East gave way to a shaky start in October for stocks. The gains pulled the three major indexes near flat for the week, underscoring the strength of Friday’s rebound.
“After a summer of weak labor data readings, this is a reassuring reading that the U.S. economy remains resilient, supported by a healthy labor market,” said Michelle Cluver, head of ETF model portfolios at Global X. “We remain in an environment where good economic news is good news for the equity market as it increases the potential for a soft landing.”
Nvidia, Tesla and Netflix were among the megacap tech names climbing on Friday, which helped the Nasdaq outperform in the session. On the other end of the spectrum, small cap stocks also rallied, with the Russell 2000 up about 1.5%.
Crude oil prices rose again on Friday, bringing the week-to-date gain close to 9%. Oil has been pushed higher as a result of intensifying conflict in the Middle East after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel.
Energy prices have jumped this as oil rallied, with the S&P 500 sector up 5.9%. With that, the sector is on pace to notch its biggest weekly gain in more than a year.
A closely watched port strike ended Thursday night, as the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance reached a tentative agreement on wages. The parties also agreed to extend their existing contract into January to allow more time for further negotiations.
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