Stocks end higher in choppy session after jobs report

STORY: Wall Street rallied on Friday, snapping a four-session losing streak in a choppy session, as investors wrestled with a mixed jobs report.

All three main indexes rose by about a percent and a quarter or more.

The Labor Department's closely watched non-farm payrolls report showed the U.S. added more jobs than expected in October, but data also showed a small rise in the unemployment rate.

That uptick was enough for investors to think the Federal Reserve might downsize its rate hikes, says Doug Sandler, Head of Global Strategy at RiverFront Investment Group.

"I think one of the reasons that stocks are up today is that, you know, you had the non-farm payrolls report and there were some data in there that did show some signs of employment slowing or unemployment rising. And that's what we're really trying to... that's what the Fed's looking to, is they have to balance stable prices and full employment. That's their dual mandate. And as long as employment is full, they just focus on stable prices, which they stabilize by raising interest rates. Once you start to see unemployment rising, the Fed has to pay attention to that second mandate of full employment because constituents scream at their politicians, politicians scream at the Fed, and the Fed can't just be tin-eared and keep raising rates when the economy is starting to slow."

The U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 8, where control of Congress is at stake, will be in focus for the market next week, as well as a key consumer inflation reading due on Thursday.

Meanwhile, hopes of an easing in China's tough health restrictions supported U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies including Alibaba and its rival in the e-commerce space JD.com, which ended nearly 10% higher.

Shares of Starbucks jumped after the coffee chain topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales and profit.

And food delivery firm DoorDash reported a revenue beat that also boosted shares.