The blue-chip Dow jumped 341.16 points, or 0.8%, to 42,352.75, eclipsing its previous high of 42,330.15 on Monday. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq gained more than 200 points, or 1.2%. All three indexes finished with weekly gains for the fourth straight week.

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%.