Stock market jumps after strong jobs report

NEW YORK - Stocks closed sharply higher after the U.S. government reported a big increase in hiring last month. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 198 points, or 1.3 percent, to 16,020 Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 20 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,805. The Nasdaq composite rose 29 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,062.

It was the first increase for the market after five days of losses. The S&P 500 still ended the week with a slight loss, the first after eight weeks of gains.

The government reported that U.S. employers added 203,000 jobs in November, the fourth straight month of solid growth.