Stocks open higher amid report of hiring surge last month

A strong report on job creation pushed stock indexes higher Friday, even though the figures may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than anticipated. The dollar rose as traders anticipated more robust growth in the U.S.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,930 as of 10:02 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,074 and the Nasdaq composite rose 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,782.

JOBS: The main focus in the markets Friday was the monthly U.S. payrolls survey from the Labor Department. That showed U.S. employers added 321,000 jobs last month, the biggest burst of hiring in nearly three years. November marks the 10th straight month of U.S. job gains above 200,000, and would put 2014 on track to be the best year for hiring since 1999.

ANALYST’S TAKE: “Today’s remarkably positive nonfarm payrolls figures indicate that the U.S. is in a rather nice position at present,” said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com. “Today’s data is likely to result in further support for the dollar.”

ECONOMIC REACTION: The payrolls data could ratchet up expectations in the markets that the Fed will soon be in a position to start raising interest rates. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 2.30 percent from 2.24 percent the day before, as investors sold bonds in anticipation of possibly higher interest rates.

EUROPE FOLLOWS THE U.S.: European markets were also broadly higher after the U.S. economic data. Germany’s DAX rose 1.8 percent, France’s CAC-40 was up 1.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index added 0.8 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 94 cents to $65.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude declined 81 cents to $68.85 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London.