September jobs report cheers investors; stocks open higher

Investors sent Wall Street stocks higher early Friday after the federal government reported the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs in September.

The payroll gains were in line with analysts’ expectations, but the government also reported that the unemployment rate fell from 8.1% to 7.8%.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 59 points, or 0.4%, to 13,634 shortly after the opening bell.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8 points, or 0.5%, to 1,469.

The Nasdaq was up 16 points, or 0.5%, to 3,166.

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