U.S. stocks mixed after jobs report, S&P 500 and Dow near record highs

The U.S. stock market fluctuated on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading around record highs, after a mixed jobs report.

The Labor Department said non-farm payrolls increased 214,000 in October, less than expected. But revisions for prior months added 31,000 jobs and the unemployment rate surprisingly fell to 0.8%.

The S&P 500 gained 0.16%, the Dow Jones fell 0.02% and the NASDAQ Composite Index fell 0.27%.

The S&P 500 is on track for a 0.4% gain, the third weekly straight gain. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 ended at record highs on Thursday.

Energy shares were mostly up after oil prices rebounded.

The jobs report was thought of as disappointing at start, but the facts that unemployment fell despite a rise in workers entering the labor force, and this was  the ninth month this year the economy added more than 200,000 jobs are quite positive.

The jobs report also showed the biggest job gains in food and retail, suggesting strength in the upcoming holiday season.

Investors now look to next week`s retail sales data for more proof on the strength of the economy`s recovery.