STORY: U.S. stocks closed solidly higher on Friday, as a stronger-than-expected jobs report reassured investors who had worried the economy may be slowing too rapidly.

The Dow gained eight-tenths of a percent to notch a record closing high. The S&P 500 added nine-tenths of a percent, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.2%.

Friday's nonfarm payrolls report from the Labor Department showed job gains increased in September by the most in six months, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%.

Ross Mayfield is an investment strategist at Baird.

"So markets are higher today, I think it's a reflection of something that we've been looking for, which is that good news is again good news, right? So, jobs report comes in better than expected, and rather than the market sell off because it means the Fed might not cut rates or might have to get more aggressive, it means that a recession is farther away than maybe some some nervous investors had expected."

The robust jobs data prompted traders to further reduce bets of a 50-basis-point rate cut at the Federal Reserve's November meeting to just 8%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Meanwhile, with tensions escalating in the Middle East, oil prices continued to climb, pushing the S&P energy index up 1%.

Other notable stock moves on Friday included Spirit Airlines, which tumbled more than 24% after a report showed the carrier was in talks with bondholders about a potential bankruptcy filing. Other airlines, including Frontier Group, United Airlines and American Airlines all rose sharply.

And shares of EV-maker Rivian fell more than 3% after the company cut its full-year production forecast and delivered fewer vehicles than expected in the third quarter.