Stocks rallied Friday, with the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes notching new intraday records, after the Labor Department estimated the U.S. economy added 128,000 new jobs in October and upwardly revised its estimate of job growth in September and August.

Investors were also parsing the latest data on the U.S. manufacturing sector, which continued to contract in October, but less severely than the month before.

What are major indexes doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.11% rose 250 points, or 0.9%, to 27,296, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.97% gained 25 points, or 0.8%, to 3,062. The Nasdaq Composite index COMP, +1.13% added 74 points, or 0.9%, at 8,366.

The S&P 500 was trading above its previous intraday record and its current closing record of 3,046.77, set Oct. 30 and the Nasdaq rose above its previous closing record of 8,339.64, set July 26.

What’s driving the market?

The U.S. economy created 128,000 new jobs in October, above economist’s estimates of a 75,000 gain, while the unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.6%, in line with expectations. Furthermore, the government revised up the number of jobs created in August and September by a total of 95,000.

Wage growth rose by 0.2% in October and 3% from a year ago at a slightly lower pace than earlier in the year, but still faster than overall consumer prices.

“It’s hard not to be excited about this jobs report,” JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade told MarketWatch. “There are tons of positives, including the uptick in jobs gains for previous months.

The numbers reflect momentum in the American, consumer-driven economy heading into the fourth quarter, Kinahan added. “Jobs have an amazing way of creating confidence in the economy.”

The latest survey-based take on the U.S. manufacturing sector was also in focus. The Institute for Supply Management’s October manufacturing activity index came in at 48.3% in October, below expectations for a 49% reading, but above the 47.8% seen in September. Any reading below 50% indicates contraction.

“The manufacturing sector weakness appears to be stabilizing after falling below the 50 level and into recession in August,” MUFG chief economist, Chris Rupkey, said. “The outlook for nation’s factories isn’t growing any worse and the manufacturing recession isn’t intensifying.”

Spending on U.S. construction projects rose 0.5% in September, above economists expectations for a 0.3% rise, according to a MarketWatch poll and above the 0.3% decline in August

The S&P 500 index ended at a record on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected interest rate cut but also signaled it would pause before making any further moves.

“With Fed Chair Jerome Powell estimating that risks to the U.S. economy have subsided, investors will be holding policy makers to their data-dependent stance with greater fervor,” said Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM, in a note. “A sudden deterioration in economic conditions could yet prompt the FOMC to resume its policy easing, even though Powell insisted this week that U.S. monetary policy is in a ‘good place,’ having already made three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts to U.S. interest rates this year.”

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida on Friday said he’s “very happy” with the stance of monetary policy, suggesting the hurdle for more interest rate cuts is high. “The economy is very resilient. The consumer has never been in better shape,” Clarida said.

What companies are in focus?

Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG, -0.11%  Google will acquire Fitbit IncFIT, +15.21%  in a $2.1 billion deal, the companies announced Friday.

Bringing the busiest week for corporate earnings to a close, several heavyweights issued earnings results Friday morning including Dow component Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM, +0.01%, whose stock was 2.8% higher after the oil company reported profits and sales that fell less than expected. Read more at Market Watch