Wall Street closes higher with positive jobs data

NEW YORK (AA) - Wall Street closed higher Friday as a strong jobs report showed the U.S. added more private sector positions than anticipated.

The Dow jumped 186 points to 20,071 and the S&P rose 16 points to 2,297.

The Nasdaq increased 30 points to finish the last trading day of the week at 5,666 -- an all-tine record high.

For the week, the Dow lost 0.1 percent, while the S&P and the Nasdaq each gained 0.1 percent.

The economy added 227,000 jobs in January, beating the market expectation of 175,000 and marking the largest gain in the past four months, the Labor Department said.

Average job gains in the past three months also rose to 183,000, according to the agency.