Stocks were pointed higher in early trading following positive reports out of China and then were buoyed by a much better than expected monthly jobs report. The market was then given additional fuel to run higher when Fed Chair Powell said the central bank would be flexible in it approach to interest rates and normalizing its balance sheet. The dovish comments pushed the major averages to gains of more than 3%, giving the market solid gains for the week ahead of the first trade talk meeting between the U.S. and China since the 90-day truce was called at the beginning of December.

ECONOMIC EVENTS: U.S. nonfarm payrolls jumped 312,000 in December, which was significantly stronger job growth than expected. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% versus 3.7%. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% versus 0.2% previously, for a 3.2% year-over-year pace. The final Markit services PMI for December dipped 0.3 points to 54.4 from November's 54.7, though it was better than the 53.4 preliminary December print. Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is down 8 rigs from last week to 1,075.

In White House news, President Donald Trump is "seriously considering" potential options to circumvent Congress, including declaring a national emergency, in order to get funds from the DOD and elsewhere to help pay for parts of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, ABC News reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the ongoing discussions. Trump held a meeting with congressional leaders that he called "contentious" but also "very productive" and confirmed that he is prepared for the ongoing government shutdown to go on for months or years, though he does not think that it will and he hopes it will be over within days.

In central bank news, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, while speaking in a roundtable discussion with former Chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen in Atlanta, said that the Fed "wouldn't hesitate to make a change" on its balance sheet normalization efforts should he feel they were creating a problem to the markets. Powell added that the Fed is always prepared to shift its policy stance "significantly" as warranted. Additionally, Powell said he has no meeting scheduled with President Trump and would not resign if asked to by the president.

COMPANY NEWS: Shares of GameStop (GME) jumped 2.1% after The Wall Street Journal said that private-equity firms Sycamore Partners and Apollo Global Management (APO) are bidding to take the challenged video game retailer private. A deal could be announced by mid-February, according to The Journal, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry added Netflix (NFLX) to his firm's Conviction List while keeping a Buy rating on the shares. With the stock down 36% since record highs in July, Netflix represents one of the best risk/reward propositions in the Internet sector, Terry told investors. His bullish comments, along with broader strength in big tech, has helped Netflix rise 9.7.

BofA Merrill Lynch analyst Vivek Arya upgraded Intel (INTC) to Buy from Neutral, stating that the stock provides attractive exposure to growth trends in cloud computing, AI, advanced autos and 5G, which are markets he expects to perform better than cyclical sectors such as industrial, automotive and smartphones. Intel shares rose 6.1% after the upgrade.

Meanwhile, Ironwood (IRWD) shares jumped 11.3% after the company named former AstraZeneca (AZN) executive Mark Mallon as its next CEO.

MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Epizyme (EPZM), which rose 32.8% after it announced a registration path for tazemetostat for follicular lymphoma. Also higher was Marriott (MAR), which gained 6% after it reduced its estimate for the size of its previously announced Starwood data breach.

Among the notable losers was Fortinet (FTNT), which slid fractionally after Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges double downgraded the stock to Sell from Buy and cut her price target to $59 from $65. 

INDEXES: The Dow rose 746.94, or 3.29%, to 23,433.16, the Nasdaq gained 275.35, or 4.26%, to 6,738.86, and the S&P 500 advanced 84.05, or 3.43%, to 2,531.94.