Stock market today: live updates

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed on Friday, erasing an earlier rally after all-important jobs data dashed expectations.

The blue-chip Dow Jones gained just 19 points despite gaining more than 300 points at session highs. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% after trading over 1% higher at one point. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%.

Stocks initially soared after data showed that nonfarm payrolls rose by 254,000 in September, far exceeding the 150,000 gain forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, although it was expected to remain stable at 4.2%.

While the report signaled a strong economy, it also reduced the possibility that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again by half a percentage point in November – something traders had long been calling for. Stocks gave up some of their gains as bond yields jumped after the data 10 yearsis almost 4% at some point.

“The Fed should not be in a rush now to move interest rates closer to neutrality over the next year,” said Jason Pride, head of investment strategy and research at Glenmede. “It doesn’t appear that the labor market has bottomed out.”

Tesla, Amazon And Netflix were among the megacap tech names that rose on Friday, explaining the Nasdaq's outperformance. At the other end of the spectrum, small-cap stocks also rallied Russell 2000 increased by around 1%.

Friday's action came after rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East led to a shaky start to October for stocks. All three major indexes are on the verge of a three-week winning streak.

The Dow and Nasdaq lost 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, for the week. The S&P 500 is expected to lose 0.3%.

Crude oil prices rose again on Friday, bringing the week-to-date gain to almost 9%. Oil prices rose due to the worsening conflict in the Middle East after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel.

Energy stocks jumped this week on the back of the oil rally, with the S&P 500 sector gaining 6.8%. This puts the group on track to achieve its largest weekly gain in almost two years.