Stocks Shake Off Jobs Report, Autos Data

Updated from 12:36 p.m. EST

U.S. stocks were trading higher Friday as traders shrugged off the worst monthly unemployment reading in more than a decade and assessed troubling earnings statements from the automotive sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 169 points at 8863, and the S&P 500 added 17 points to 922. The Nasdaq jumped 29 points to 1638.

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%. ...