Strong job gains send U.S. stock market sharply higher

The stock market had its biggest gain since September after the U.S. government reported another solid month of job gains.

The encouraging news on the economy Friday likely paved the way for the Federal Reserve to begin nudging interest rates back toward normal levels at its policy meeting later this month.

Energy stocks didn’t join the rally, and fell instead as the price of oil took another tumble after OPEC said it wouldn’t curb production.

The Dow Jones industrial average soared 369 points, or 2.1 percent, to 17,847.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 42 points, or 2.1 percent, to 2,091. The Nasdaq composite increased 104 points, or 2.1 percent, to 5,142.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.27 percent.

Associated Press

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Strong job gains send U.S. stock market sharply higher."