US stocks trade higher on solid jobs data

US stocks traded on an upbeat note on Wednesday as investors cheered the newly-released strong jobs data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 149.16 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 26,923.10. The S&P 500 was up 12.52 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 2,935.95, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 40.81 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 8,040.35.

Caterpillar and Intel stocks were leading the advancers in the Dow shares of the two companies climbed 1.98 per cent and 1.83 per cent, respectively, around midday.

Major US bank shares also outperformed. Shares of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase both gained more than 1 per cent.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher, with financials leading the winners. Tech sector rose about 0.7 per cent, underpinning the Nasdaq.

On economic data, US private sector employment increased by 230,000 jobs from August to September, according to research institute ADP's National Employment Report on Wednesday. The reading was well above the market expectations of 185,000 and the August revised rate of 168,000.

The ADP National Employment Report provides a monthly snapshot of US nonfarm private sector employment based on actual transactional payroll data.

--IANS

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