US stocks rally on strong jobs data

US equities finished significantly higher on Friday, fuelled by better-than-anticipated jobs data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 301.13 points, or 1.11 per cent, to 27,347.36. The S&P 500 rose 29.35 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 3,066.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 94.04 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 8,386.40, Xinhua reported.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors climbed, with energy and industrials up 2.51 per cent and 2.21 per cent, respectively, leading the gainers. Real estate and utilities, however, struggled.

US employers added 128,000 jobs in October, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The reading topped the 75,000 forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Job gains mainly occurred in food services and drinking establishments, social assistance, and financial activities, the report showed. Within manufacturing, employment in motor vehicles and parts decreased, the bureau said, due to the six-week strike at General Motors.

Unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 percentage point to 3.6 per cent, after hitting 3.5 per cent in September, the lowest since December 1969, according to the report.

Other data released on Friday included a gauge of US manufacturing, which showed the sector contracted for a third straight month in October amid global trade uncertainties.

US manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers' index) registered 48.3 per cent in October, following a September reading of 47.8 per cent, reported the Institute for Supply Management. Any reading below 50 per cent indicates a contraction in the industry.

The corporate earnings season continued on Friday. Of the S&P 500 companies that have delivered earnings by far, about 75 per cent have topped analysts' estimates.IANS