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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for a strong open Friday after a government report indicated the economy produced twice as many jobs as expected in September.
The economy gained 103,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.1%.
A CNNMoney survey of 22 economists had forecast that the U.S. economy added 65,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate expected to remain unchanged at 9.1%.
Investors have been worried about the economy heading inot another recession if the labor situation doesn't start to show marked improvement.
And while Friday's report was better than expected, the pace of job creation remains relatively slow -- and far below levels expected in a robust recovery.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all up sharply ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks rallied for a third straight day as investors grew optimistic that Europe was moving closer, albeit slowly, to a solution for its debt problems.
The ongoing nervousness about the scant progress being made to resolve Europe's debt crisis has provided for a volatile market.
World markets: European stocks were mixed in morning trading, after credit rating agency Moody's downgraded 12 U.K. financial institutions.
The ratings agency said the country is more likely to allow smaller banks to fail should they become financially troubled.
Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) was up 0.1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany was flat and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) lost 0.2%.
Japan's central bank announced Friday it would keep its already very low interest rates unchanged.
Asian markets ended higher. The Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong advanced 3.1% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) rose 1.0%. Shanghai (SHCOMP) was closed for holiday.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar weakened against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.
Oil for November delivery slipped 32 cents to $82.29 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell 20 cents to $1,653.00 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury increased to 2.02%, up from 1.99% late Thursday. 
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
| Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
| S&P 500 | 3,913.10 | -2.36 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
| Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
| General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
| Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.84% | 3.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
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