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The government's monthly report showed employers added 114,000 jobs in September, better than the 110,000 economists surveyed by CNNMoney had expected. And the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8%, falling below 8% for the first time since early 2009.
Markets in Europe were also boosted by the news. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the DAX in Germany added 1.1% and France's CAC 40 gained 1.4%.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve will release data on August consumer credit, which is expected to have expanded by $5 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
U.S. stocks finished higher Thursday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi reiterated the central bank's commitment to its new bond-buying plan.
World Markets: Asian markets posted gains for the day. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.5%, while Japan's Nikkei ended 0.4% higher. Markets in Shanghai were closed this week for a holiday.
Companies: Shares of social gaming firm Zynga (ZNGA) plunged 20% in premarket trading, following the company's announcement that it was lowering its 2012 guidance.
Facebook (FB) shares shed more than 2% in premarket trading, a day after company declared 1 billion people use Facebook.
Related: Behind Iran's currency crash
Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro and British pound and Japanese yen.
Oil for November delivery fell 68 cents to $91.03 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery dropped $3.30 to $1,793.20 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing up the yield to 1.68% from 1.66% from late Thursday. 
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 15,318.23 | 138.38 | 0.91% |
| Nasdaq | 3,482.18 | 30.05 | 0.87% |
| S&P 500 | 1,651.81 | 12.77 | 0.78% |
| Treasuries | 2.18 | 0.01 | 0.51% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pfizer Inc | 29.40 | 0.24 | 0.82% |
| Sprint Nextel Corp | 7.32 | 0.10 | 1.39% |
| General Electric Co | 24.33 | 0.56 | 2.36% |
| Bank of America Corp... | 13.27 | 0.06 | 0.45% |
| Microsoft Corp | 34.98 | -0.02 | -0.06% |
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 4.01% | 4.04% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.11% | 3.18% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.82% | 2.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 4.00% | 4.03% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.11% | 3.16% |
Today's featured rates:
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