NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - A better-than-expected February jobs report was the catalyst that lifted stocks Friday, with investors scooping up a variety of shares after a week of choppy trade.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 104.06 to 11,076.34, Charts) added nearly 1 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (up 9.35 to 1,281.58, Charts) index gained around 0.7 percent. The Nasdaq composite (up 12.32 to 2,262.04, Charts) added almost 0.6 percent.

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The major gauges briefly lost some steam in the early afternoon, but charged back by the close.

"It's a positive reaction to a positive report," said Michael Swanson, senior economist at Wells Fargo.

In addition, the report was also an excuse for investors to jump back into stocks at the end of a rough week, said Harry Clark, founder and CEO of Clark Capital Management Group.

"I think it's a rebound rally," he added.

Stocks have had a choppy week as investors have contended with a flattening yield curve, amid questions about global interest rates, geopolitical instabilities and some mixed reads on the economy.

For the week, the Dow gained, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 declined.

Next week is chock full of economic news, with reports due on retail sales, manufacturing, housing and consumer sentiment.

However, the biggest potential market mover is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), due Thursday.

"The Federal Reserve is concerned with maintaining price stability and with employment and the economy," said Swanson. "We know the labor market is strong and that the economy is doing well, but the CPI will address pricing pressure."

Employers added 243,000 jobs to their payrolls in February, versus a downwardly revised gain of 170,000 in January. Wall Street economists thought 210,000 jobs would be added, according to a Briefing.com survey.

Average hourly earnings, the report's inflation component, rose 0.3 percent, in line with forecasts. Meanwhile, the unemployment report, generated by a separate survey, rose to 4.8 percent, versus expectations for it to hold steady at 4.7 percent.

Overall, the report seemed to support the belief that the economy continues to recover and that inflation remains contained, both supportive factors for stocks.

"It's supporting what other recent reports have said about the economy, something of a compliment to the capital," Swanson said. "Business is strong and they need people to work."

Treasury prices dipped following the employment report, but recovered by the end of the session, leaving the yield on the 10-year note at 4.75 percent, unchanged from late Thursday.

The yield on the 10-year note was just above that of the 2-year note. Earlier in the session, the two had been roughly even, a flattening of the yield curve which can signal slower economic growth ahead.

Blue chips led the advance, with 28 out of 30 Dow components rising.

Standouts included Verizon Communications (up $0.61 to $34.19, Research), up 1.8 percent, Home Depot (up $0.61 to $41.25, Research), up 1.5 percent and Honeywell (up $0.87 to $42.14, Research), up 2.1 percent.

The Dow's financial components gained too, including AIG (up $1.06 to $67.65, Research) and American Express (up $1.03 to $54.23, Research).

Financial was one of the better performing sectors on the day, with the Amex Securities Broker/Dealer (Charts) index gaining 0.8 percent.

Home building shares jumped too, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector (Charts) index adding 1.5 percent.

A gain in oil stocks lifted the Philadelphia Oil Service (Charts) sector index by 1.6 percent.

On Thursday, a steep selloff in technology sent the Nasdaq tumbling and pressured the broader market.

Tech shares continued to struggle in the early going Friday, but managed to recover with the broader market, thanks to strength in software and networking issues.

On the downside, Nortel Networks (down $0.07 to $3.02, Research) lost more than two percent in active New York Stock Exchange trade. The telecom warned that it will report a steep fourth-quarter loss and that it will need to restate past financial statements due to accounting inaccuracies.

Rival Motorola (down $0.40 to $20.88, Research) fell in sympathy.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by more than two to one on volume of 1.59 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by more than three to two as 1.78 billion shares traded hands.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell 51 cents to settle at $59.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currency trading, the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold for April delivery fell $5.70 to settle at $541.30 an ounce.

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