US Stock Markets Today: Dow Jones Open 270 Points Higher, Nasdaq Gains 1%

The US stock market opened higher on Friday as employment growth in September was better than expected, while the jobless rate slowed from the prior month's level.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, or 270 points, to reach 42,281, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2% to trade above 18,140.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.7% to 5,740. Nine of the eleven sectoral indices were trading in green, led by consumer discretionary and financials, with only real estate and utilities seeing declines.

Among major companies, shares of chipmakers Tesla, AMD, Wells Fargo, Dell Technologies, and Super Micro Computer jumped 3%. Telecom majors AT&T and Verizon dipped more than 1%.

US nonfarm payrolls increased by 2,54,000 jobs in September, significantly exceeding the Dow Jones forecast of 1,50,000. The unemployment rate also dipped to 4.1%, contrary to expectations that it would remain steady at 4.2%, CNBC reported.

The positive news on the US economic front gave investors respite from the recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, that jolted markers worldwide since that start of October.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond jumped 12 basis points to 3.97%.

The US dollar strengthened against major currencies, particularly the Japanese Yen. The Bloomberg Dollar Index gained 0.4% to 102.09. The yen fell as much as 1% against the greenback.

Spot gold prices plunged 0.4% to $2,667 an ounce.

International benchmark Brent oil gained 1.8% to $79 per barrel, extending the rally to the fourth day. Oil prices have surged amid escalating conflict in the Middle East following Iran's missile attack on Israel.