U.S. stocks advanced Friday to close the trading week after the Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose 29,000 in September — far short of the 90,000 gain economists had expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 250.40 points, or 0.49%, to 51,176.96. The S&P 500 gained 56.27 points, or 0.73%, to 7,722.72. The Nasdaq Composite added 319.27 points, or 1.19%, to 27,190.86, according to the Reuters market wrap carried on StreetInsider.

Softer hiring pulled down near-term rate-hike odds. CME FedWatch put the chance of at least a 25-basis-point hike at the Fed's late-October meeting near 23%, down from about 64% a week earlier. Rate-sensitive groups participated: the Russell 2000 rose about 0.9%, and mega-caps such as Nvidia and Tesla helped lead the S&P.

The day bounce did not erase a weak week for the blue chips. For the full week the S&P 500 still shed 0.27% and the Dow fell 1.26%, while the Nasdaq eked out a 0.45% weekly gain — its fifth rise in six weeks. Nike slid after a weak China-heavy outlook, and storage names Western Digital and Seagate fell about 10% on a Toshiba capacity report.

Backstory: investors spent September and early October juggling sticky energy prices from the Iran war with a labor market that no longer looks overheated. Two Fed officials earlier in the week had already urged more data before another hike, so Friday's print reinforced a wait-and-see path into the next meeting.

Where to watch: Monday's futures open and any weekend war or oil headlines that could reopen inflation fears.

What we know:
Friday's cash closes and the +29,000 payroll print are on the BLS and exchange record. Soft jobs cooled October hike odds in FedWatch.

What we don't:
Whether the equity bounce sticks when Monday trading resumes, or whether sticky prices and war risk force a December hike back into focus.