Stocks rallied after data showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.

U.S. stocks rallied Friday after a surprisingly strong report on the U.S. job market raised optimism about the economy. The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 0.9% and got close to its all-time high set on Monday.