The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 11,000 Friday for the first time since May as a bleak jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will move to stimulate economic growth. The blue chip index closed up 57.90 points, or 0.53%, to 11006.48, closing above the 11000 level for the first time since May 3, just days before the May 6 flash crash. The Dow gained 1.6% during the week and is now up 5.5% year to date. Alcoa was the Dow's biggest gainer, surging 5.7% after kicking off earnings season late Thursday with results that exceeded analysts' expectations. The company also lifted its forecast for global aluminum demand in 2010. Caterpillar was ahead 2.1%, Walt Disney rose 1.8% and Procter & Gamble gained 1.7% to help power the Dow's gains. The technology heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.77% to 2401.91, adding 1.3% during the week. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index gained 0.61% to 1165.15, with the materials and consumer discretionary sectors leading the way. The S&P 500 rose 1.7% during the week and is now up 4.5% for 2010. The stock market's gains came after the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report showed a net 95,000 workers lost their jobs in September, a steeper than expected decline. The private sector added 64,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate, which is calculated with a separate household survey, remained unchanged at 9.6% in September. Friday's jobs report served as another reminder that the U.S. labor market remains in the doldrums 15 months after the recession officially ended. But investors hoped Friday that this increases the odds that the Fed will take new steps to jump start the economy at its next meeting on Nov. 3 by purchasing more Treasurys, known as quantitative easing or QE2.

European stock markets finished mostly lower Friday, led down by banking giant Barclays PLC, after a report showed the U.S. economy lost many more jobs than expected last month. The Europe Stoxx 600 index ended down 0.02% at 262.26, but posted a gain of 1.2% for the week. U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined 95,000 in September. In Europe, shares of banking giant Barclays PLC fell 2.2% after an Abu Dhabi investment fund said late Thursday that it would hedge its sizeable exposure to the bank. As a result 220 million shares of the bank were sold by Nomura International, which carried out the transaction. The FTSE 100 index edged down 0.1% to 5,657.61. Sage Group PLC slipped 4.6% after UBS cut it to sell from neutral, citing low growth prospects. Fresnillo PLC fell 3.2% after the company was reportedly downgraded by Bank of America Merrill Lynch to underperform from neutral. Shares of Swiss biotech group Actelion Ltd. rallied 10.4% on a report in The Wall Street Journal that several potential buyers were interested in the group. The German DAX-30 index bucked the negative trend to end up 0.3% at 6,291.67, helped by a 3.2% gain in shares of Commerzbank AG. The French CAC 40 lost 0.2% to 3,763.18, with shares of Renault SA falling 2.4%.

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Friday, though Chinese stocks delivered their best percentage gain in more than four months as several resource shares jumped by the 10% daily limit in response to a recent rally in commodities as trading resumed after the week long Golden Week holiday. News that Moody's Investors Service is reviewing China's government bond rating for a possible upgrade boosted sentiment and also helped Hong Kong stocks finish higher. Still, overall trading in the region reflected caution ahead of the key U.S. jobs report due later in the global day. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.0% to 9,588.88, South Korea's Kospi shed 0.2%, Taiwan's Taiex gave up 0.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tacked on 0.3%. China's Shanghai Composite added 3.1% for its biggest percentage gain since May 24, while the Shenzhen Composite index advanced 2.8%. Metal and coal producers jumped off the blocks, helping overcome the early weakness displayed by property developers in the wake of further tightening measures introduced by the Shanghai municipal government Thursday. Jiangxi Copper and Yanzhou Coal Mining jumped by the 10% daily limit in Shanghai, while Yunnan Copper and Tongling Nonferrous Metals did the same in Shenzhen.

Base metals ended sharply higher Friday after poor U.S. jobs data raised expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will take measures to stimulate the economy. The dollar weakened against major currencies and U.S. equities rebounded from early losses to move into the black. Aluminum led Friday's rally among the metals, ending 4% higher at $2,420 a metric ton, its highest since April. Copper rose to a 27 month high of $8,291/ton, while zinc and lead recouped nearly most of their losses in the past two days. Crude oil futures prices rebounded Friday to settle higher, lifted by weakness in the dollar and concerns that a continuing strike at a French oil port may begin crimping supplies. Prices rebounded after a strong sell off Thursday that was tied to gyrations in the dollar and investors cashing in after crude hit a five month high above $84 a barrel. The dollar swung broadly after a disappointing U.S. jobless report, which didn't prove to be the tonic for the ailing economy that some analysts had hoped. Light, sweet crude oil for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $82.66 a barrel, up 1.2%, or 99 cents after a drop Thursday of $1.56 a barrel that was the biggest since Aug. 31. Nymex crude ended the week up 1.3% from last Friday. ICE North Sea Brent for November settled 60 cents, or 0.7%, higher at $84.03 a barrel. Gold futures rallied as weaker than expected U.S. employment figures bumped up expectations of further U.S. monetary easing and sent investors into the metal to hedge a weakening dollar. The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, rose $10.30, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,345.30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.