Stocks rose slightly on Friday, putting them on track for a three-day winning streak, despite the release of weaker-than-expected jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued hot, gaining 76.4 points to 26,804.55, on course for a weekly gain of 1.5%
The S&P 500 gained 4.89 points to 2,990.89, headed for a jump of 1.9% over the last four sessions.
The NASDAQ Composite moved up 4.27 points to 8,121.10, set to leap 2% over a short week.
In corporate news, Lululemon shares jumped more than 7% on quarterly results that topped analyst expectations. The apparel maker said its same-store sales — a key metric for retailers — rose 15% for the year-earlier period. Lands' End and Signet Jewelers also rose 2.5% and 4%, respectively, on better-than-expected earnings.
The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected jobs to grow by 150,000 last month.
Unemployment remained steady at a rate of 3.7% while wages grew more than expected. Wages expanded by 0.4% on a month-over-month basis and by 3.2% year over year.
August marked the third straight month that job creation in the U.S. slowed. In June, 178,000 jobs were added while 159,000 were created in July.
Investors also awaited remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The top Fed official is scheduled to speak at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Friday's data and moves come as investors look for clues about the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy move later this month. market expectations for a 25 basis-point rate cut are at 91.2%
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 1.54% from Thursday's 1.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices fell 33 cents to $55.97 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hung onto gains of $4.60 to $1,530.10 U.S. an ounce.