By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch 321,000 jobs added in November, unemployment rate at 5.8%

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)--The U.S. stock market moved higher on Friday after a surprisingly strong jobs report, sending the S&P 500 and Dow industrials to intraday record levels.

The blowout report showing that employers added 321,000 jobs in November, beating the consensus number by 86,000, while unemployment rates remained steady at 5.8%, offers further signs that the U.S. economy is improving.

Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said the jobs report had very little to complain about.

"For optimist, strong gains in the labor market means the economy is getting stronger. Even if this means the Fed will raise rates sooner, it will be for the right reasons," Wiegand said.

"The current environment of low inflation and easy money is a goldilocks scenario for stocks," he added.

Wiegand also predicted the Fed's actions still will be measured and transparent. Still, investors will be watching the outcome of the FOMC meeting on Dec. 16-17 closely for any hints on the timing of interest rate increases.

Worries about rate increases, however, didn't prevent benchmarks from inching toward new records and modest weekly gains. The S&P 500 (SPX) rose, setting an intraday high, led higher by gains in financials and health-care sector stocks, while utilities and energy sector shares lagged behind.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) set an intraday high and was trading within 10 points of the 18,000 level.

The Russell 2000 (RUT) was outperforming large-caps again, rising sharply, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) also edged higher

Read also: 10 biggest risks to the stock market in 2015

Economic data: The strong November jobs tally represented the biggest gain since early 2012 and extends the strongest streak of hiring in several decades. Virtually every industry was hiring and many of the new jobs were higher paying ones.

In a good sign, the average hourly wage of American workers rose a strong 0.4% in November to $24.66 after two straight weak readings. Still, wages are only up 2.1% in the past 12 months, a rate that's barely changed since the recovery began in mid-2009.

Factory orders fell a worse-than-expected 0.7% in October, the Commerce Department reported.

Stocks to watch: Discount retailer Big Lots Inc.(BIG) posted a third straight quarter of same-store sales growth, as a narrowing loss led the company to raise the top end of guidance for the current quarter. Shares plunged.

Delia's Inc. (DLIAV) wiped out 85% of its value after the teen retailer, said it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.(BIG)

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) jumped more than 4%. The company will be among the health-care stocks benefiting if a proposal to expand Medicaid in Florida to cover about 1 million uninsured is adopted, analyst Chris Rigg at Susquehanna said in a report.

Shares of Gap Inc.(GPS) added to gains made late Thursday after the retailer said November comparable sales were up 6% versus the same month a year ago.

For more on today's movers read out Movers & Shakers column

Overseas markets: While the European Central Bank gave no hints at Thursday's meeting about future stimulus, markets were convinced otherwise, with European stocks up 1%. That came even as the Bundesbank cut its German growth forecasts for this year and the next two. The FTSE 100 was up slightly.

Chinese trading volume hit a record, with the Shanghai Composite Index closing up 1.3% in a wild day of trading. The index has gained nearly 10% this week. The Nikkei 225 index rose just 0.2%, but supported the dollar, which stayed above the key Yen120 level.

Oil prices continued to fall, with crude (CLF5) hovering around $66 a barrel and Brent under $70 a barrel after Saudi Arabia cut prices for U.S. and Asia oil, and analysts are waiting to see if other OPEC nations will follow. Gold prices(GCG5) fell 1.4%.

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