NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks bounced higher early Friday after the August jobs report showed a surprising decline and Wall Street saw no fireworks from Intel's mid-quarter update.

Around 9:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average surged 132.33 to 8,416.03. The Nasdaq composite gained 35.79 to 1,286.79. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13.92 to 893.07.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent in August, compared with 5.9 percent in July, while job growth gained a little strength as the labor market struggles to recover from more than 1.5 million job cuts last year.

Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to remain steady for the month.

Intel (INTC: up $1.26 to $16.37, Research, Estimates) could douse the fire that burned the chip sector and scorched techs this week. The No. 1 chipmaker Thursday delivered a mid-quarter update that proved almost anti-climactic after it lowered the top end of its revenue forecast but still within its estimated range, citing weak demand for chips from customers and businesses.

Wall Street had been bracing for the downbeat business forecast after a slew of analysts delivered cautious comments earlier in the week. Lehman Brothers upgraded Intel to "equal-weight" from "underweight."

The major indexes have struggled in the first week of a month seen typically seen particularly cruel to stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average is going to need a colossal finish to the week to finish in positive territory, having dropped 141 points Thursday. The Nasdaq composite index is coming off a 41-point-plus drubbing. (see chart)

Asia-Pacific stocks finished lower Friday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 1 percent. European markets were higher at midday.

Treasury prices fell in early trading on the back of the strong-than-expected jobs report, sending the 10-year note yield up to 3.99 percent from 3.91 percent late Thursday. The dollar gained against the yen and euro.

Brent oil futures surged 69 cents to $28.49 a barrel in London, where gold hit a 6-week high as investors become increasingly concerned about possible U.S. military action in Iraq.