Jobs growth boosts Wall Street, extending rally

The creation of three times as many private-sector jobs as expected turned Wall Street's early losses into gains, extending a rally investors worried had come too far too fast.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 31.71 points, or 0.27 percent, to 11,722.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 6.36 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,276.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 20.95 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,702.20.

European shares closed flat as a report showing a large increase in US job creation was countered by a stronger dollar that helped weaken metals prices and halt a rally in the mining sector.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.04 percent to close at 1,142.46 points, with the US jobs data helping it climb off a day's low of 1,128.49.

Nikkei average inched down 0.2 percent after moving in a tight range, with a broad commodities sell-off prompting investors to take profits after it hit a near eight-month closing high the previous day.

Traders said the next technical target for the Nikkei stands at a 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of its April to August fall at 10,403, a level briefly pierced on Tuesday.

The broader Topix index was almost unchanged, shedding 0.01 percent to 911.69. percent, to 2,674.07.