U.S. stock index futures rose Friday, reversing course after the government said companies hired more workers in September and previous months were better than original reports suggested.
The Labor Department said employers added 103,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent for the third straight month. About half of the jobs were for Verizon workers returning to work after a strike.
Traders watch the employment report closely because it provides the first significant snapshot of the previous month's economic performance and provides clues to the broader outlook.
Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 102 points, or 0.9 percent, to 11,148 at 8:56 a.m. Eastern time. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 12, or 1 percent, to 1,169. Nasdaq 100 futures added 16, or 0.7 percent, to 11,148.
Dow and S&P futures had traded down 0.3 percent before the report was released.
The increase in hiring was modest, not nearly enough to keep up with population growth. But expectations for the report had been low. Economists forecast that employers added only 56,000 jobs.
The stronger-than-expected result caused traders to sell ultra-safe investments that earn small returns, such as U.S. Treasurys. In the 10 minutes after the report was released, the 10-year Treasury note fell $1.19 for every $100 invested, pushing its yield to 2.11 percent from 1.98 percent.
The monthly jobs report is one of the few pieces of data powerful enough to overshadow traders' fears about Europe's festering debt crisis. Markets gyrated this summer as fears rose and fell about chances for a default by Greece. Many analysts now believe a default is unavoidable, and question whether Europe can prevent it from causing financial markets to seize up.
Short-term traders have reacted strongly to minor European developments, rumors and speculation. The Dow has closed up or down more than 100 points for nine straight trading days — the longest such streak since November 2008, in the middle of the financial crisis.
Since Tuesday, the Dow has soared 468 points, or 4.4 percent. Thursday's 183-point rally followed an announcement by the European Central Bank that it would offer long-term emergency loans to banks.
Major European lenders risk running short on reserve cash because they must take large write-downs on debt issued by Greece. Fearing losses, they are reluctant to lend to each other.
Strong sales reports from major U.S. retailers such as Target Corp. and Macy's Inc. also lifted stocks on Thursday.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.