America News Agency

The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 5,751.07, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.22 percent to 18,137.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 341.16 points, or 0.81 percent, to an all-time closing high of 42,352.75.

Stocks rallied after data showed 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 peaked at 4.1 percent despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2 percent.

Tesla, Amazon and Netflix were among the megacap tech names climbing on Friday, which can help explain the Nasdaq’s outperformance. Financials were the top sector in the S&P 500 during the session, surging 1.6 percent and closing at a record. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo jumped more than 3 percent each. Small-cap stocks also rallied on the other end of the spectrum, with the Russell 2000 up 1.5 percent.

The Dow added 0.8 percent in the session, finishing the week up just about 0.1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.1 percent in the week, boosted by a 1.2 percent rally on Friday. The S&P 500 added 0.9 percent in the session to finish the week up 0.2 percent.

Friday’s bounce erased losses seen in recent days. Mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East gave way to a shaky start in October for stocks, a turn after the market posted an unusually strong first nine months of the year.

The S&P 500 finished up 0.22 percent on the week, while the Dow increased by 0.09 percent. The Nasdaq added 0.1 percent for the week, a major turnaround given that the tech-heavy index came down more than 1 percent into Friday's session.

Crude oil prices rose again on Friday, bringing the weekly gain to around 9 percent. Oil has been pushed higher as a result of intensifying conflict in the Middle East after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel.

Energy stocks have jumped this week as oil rallied, with the S&P 500 sector up 7 percent. That marked the group’s best week since October 2022. The three major averages rose on Friday, propelling them into the green for the week.