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%.

The Dow posted a record closing high on Friday and the Nasdaq ended with a more than 1% gain as a stronger-than-expected jobs report reassured investors who had worried the economy may be getting too weak.

US stocks finished lower on Thursday ahead of Friday's monthly US payrolls report and as investors kept a watchful eye on the growing conflict in the Middle East. Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week,