New York, Dec 7 (IANS): US stocks closed higher as upbeat jobs report lifted investors' sentiment.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 337.27 points, or 1.22 per cent, to 28,015.06. The S&P 500 increased 28.48 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 3,145.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 85.83 points, or 1.00 per cent, to 8,656.53, Xinhua news agency reported.

Most of the 30 Dow components traded in green territory, with 3M Co and Goldman Sachs adding 4.32 per cent and 3.44 per cent respectively, becoming the top two gainers.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded on an upbeat note, with the energy sector rising 2 per cent.

US employers added 266,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate has dropped slightly to 3.5 per cent, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported Friday.

Job gains mainly occurred in healthcare and in professional and technical services, the report showed. The number of people employed in manufacturing rose by 54,000 in November, after a decline in October when General Motors workers were on strike.

In addition, the University of Michigan's preliminary sentiment index for December increased to 99.2 from 96.8 in November.