Markets flat Friday

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NEW YORK, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were mostly flat Friday after the Labor Department said the jobless rate was 8.1 percent and fewer jobs than expected were added in August.

The unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent, mostly due to a large number of workers who dropped out of the workforce, officials said.

Before August, the monthly tally of new jobs for 2012 averaged 151,000 per month.

Stocks found support from Europe, where an equities rally was sparked by the European Central Bank's bond-buying program announced Thursday.

By close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 14.64 points, or 0.11 percent, to 13,306.64. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.61 points, or 0.02 percent, to 3,136.42. The Standard and Poor's 500 added 5.80 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,437.92.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,024 stocks advanced and 947 declined on a volume of 3.5 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year treasury rose 3/32 to yield 1.672 percent.

The euro rose to $1.2816 from Thursday's $1.2631. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 78.24 yen from 78.86 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 255 index surged 2.2 percent, 191.08 points, to 8,871.65.

In London, the FTSE 100 index added 17.46 points, 0.3 percent, to 5,794.80.