Stocks Hold Up Against Dismal Jobs Number

Updated from 9:45 a.m. EST

U.S. stocks worked their way higher at the open Friday, even after the release of the worst monthly unemployment reading in more than a decade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 195 points at 8891, and the S&P 500 added 20 points to 925. The Nasdaq jumped 35 points to 1643.

Economic data releases continued to point to a dismal downturn. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that October nonfarm payrolls declined by 240,000, worse than analysts' projections of 200,000. The September job-loss figure was revised to 284,000 from 159,000. The unemployment rate came in at 6.5%, its highest reading since 1994 and above economists' estimates of 6.3%. ...