U.S. stocks close higher on upbeat jobs data

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday as jobs data from the country came out positive.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 117.68 points, or 0.49 percent, to 24,329.16. The S&P 500 increased 12.28 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,649.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 27.24 points, or 0.40 percent, to 6,840.08.

The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 228,000 in November, beating market consensus of a 190,000-gain. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent.

Analysts said the upbeat jobs report bolstered market speculation that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in its December meeting next week.

Moreover, investors also kept an eye on the progress of the U.S. tax reform. The U.S. Senate on Saturday morning passed the Republican bill to overhaul the tax code in decades, moving one step closer to the first major legislative victory of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. Enditem