US STOCKS-Wall St higher after payroll report, NYSE rallies

                                

                                
 * Employment jumps, jobless rate falls to two-year low
                                
 * S&P breaks above 1,330, could trigger technical momentum
                                
 * NYSE Euronext gains on rival bid from Nasdaq, ICE
                                
 * Indexes up: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.6 pct, Nasdaq 0.5 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to open)
                                
 By Ryan Vlastelica
                                
 NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday
after employment notched a second straight month of solid gains
while the jobless rate fell to a two-year low.
                                
 Non-farm payrolls rose by 216,000 jobs last month, more
than expected and the largest increase since May, the Labor
Department said. January and February employment figures were
revised to show 7,000 more jobs than previously reported. The
unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent from 8.9 percent in
February. For details, see [ID:nOAT004775]
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 48.14
points, or 0.39 percent, at 12,367.87. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 7.41 points, or 0.56 percent, at
1,333.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 13.09
points, or 0.47 percent, at 2,794.16.
                                
 The S&P broke above 1,330 following several unsuccessful
attempts in the past month. If the index stays convincingly
above that threshold, it may trigger more buying.
                                
 NYSE Euronext <NYX.N> rallied after Nasdaq OMX Group Inc
<NDAQ.O> and IntercontinentalExchange Inc <ICE.N> unveiled a
bid to buy the rival exchanges operator, topping an earlier
offer from Deutsche Boerse AG <DB1Gn.DE>. [ID:nL3E7F11TO]
                                
 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                
 To see a graphic on jobs, see
                                
 http://r.reuters.com/kab88r                         
                                
 To see a graphic comparing global exchanges, see     
                                
 http://r.reuters.com/gab88r
                                
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
                                
 NYSE surged 10.4 percent to $38.83 while ICE shares were
down 1.5 percent to $121.65 and Nasdaq OMX rose 0.4 percent to
$25.95.
                                
 Other data scheduled for Friday includes the Institute for
Supply Management report for March manufacturing due at 10 a.m.
(1400 GMT). The release will follow upbeat Chinese factory data
that eased concerns about monetary tightening. [ID:nL3E7F104Q]
                                
 The S&P 500 ended the first quarter on Thursday with a gain
of 5.4 percent.
                                
 (Editing by Kenneth Barry)