North American stock markets capped the end to a challenging week with a U.S. jobs report featuring a 50-year low unemployment rate that helped to calm investor nervousness.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 80.32 points at 16,449.35.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up a full percentage point by adding 372.68 points at 26,573.72. The S&P 500 index was up 41.38 points at 2,952.01, while the Nasdaq composite was up 110.21 points at 7,982.47.

The Canadian dollar traded for an average of US75.09¢ compared with an average of US75.02¢ on Thursday.

The November crude contract was up US36¢ at US$52.81 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up US2.3¢ at US$2.35 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US90¢ at US$1,512.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up US0.9¢ at US$2.56 a pound.