Wall Street stocks were in rally mode on Friday following strong US jobs data and after the Federal Reserve head acknowledged rising investor angst over global growth.
Near 1615 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.6 per cent at 23,284.66, around 600 points, after earlier a touching a 3.0 per cent gain.
After its worst showing for any December since 1931, the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 2.7 per cent to 2,515.01, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 3.5 per cent to 6,688.89.
US stocks opened the session higher following the December jobs report and added to gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the US central bank had no "pre-set" plan for interest rates and was carefully monitoring economic conditions.
"Markets are expressing concerns about global growth in particular and trade negotiations," Powell said at an event in Atlanta.
"We're listening with -- sensitively to the message that markets are sending and we'll be taking those downside risks into account as we make policy going forward."
Powell "said exactly what the markets wanted to hear," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services. "He will adapt to economic conditions and could provide support if it's needed."
The gains put the market on track to recover from after Thursday's rout or perhaps rise higher than that.
Apple on Wednesday slashed its revenue forecast due to weak demand in China and a US report showed manufacturing activity slumping to a two-year low, reviving fears about a global economic slowdown in the wake of the US-China trade war.
The Labour Department reported Friday that US employers added a net 312,000 new positions in December, smashing economists' expectations.
The unemployment rate ticked up by two tenths of a point to 3.9 per cent but that was mostly because more workers were joining the job hunt, according to the closely watched report.
The data come amid debate on whether the US Federal Reserve has been too aggressive in hiking interest rates and should back off in 2019.
Some economists think the market has overreacted to the signs of slowing in the United States.
"The brutal financial market moves of the past month or so clearly suggest that markets have re-evaluated considerably the outlook for this year," Oxford Economics said in a client note on Friday.
"Looking through the rear-view mirror at the published economic data suggests that recent market moves are an over-reaction to recent events."
Apple was among the companies enjoying a positive session, rising 3.6 per cent. Other Dow companies up three percent or more included Boeing, Caterpillar, Intel and Microsoft.
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