NEW YORK, March 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after data showed the nation's February employment came in stronger than expected.

File Photo: Xinhua

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 274.42 points, or 0.89 percent, to 31,198.56. The S&P 500 added 34.38 points, or 0.91 percent, to 3,802.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 98 points, or 0.77 percent, to 12,821.47.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors advanced in morning trading, with energy up 2.8 percent, leading the gainers. The consumer discretionary group, however, struggled.

U.S. employers added 379,000 jobs in February, with the unemployment rate little changed at 6.2 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Most of the job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, with smaller gains in temporary help services, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and manufacturing, according to the monthly report released by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment fell in state and local government education, construction and mining.

The increase in new jobs topped Wall Street expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal had forecast 210,000 new jobs.

U.S. equities suffered a three-day skid this week as of Thursday.

"The pullback was a continuation of what we saw for most of the week: rising bond yields prompted by inflation concerns," Kevin Matras, executive vice president at Zacks Investment Research, said in a note on Friday.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. treasury jumped to 1.6-percent level Friday morning following the strong jobs report. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also moved higher.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday said that the recent rise in yields has his attention. He reiterated that the central bank would be "patient" before changing policy even as it saw inflation pick up, saying it was likely to be a transitory fashion.