Wall Street stocks rebounded on Friday from mixed tech earnings and investor jitters less than a week before a neck-and-neck US presidential election.

After major indices tumbled on Thursday following big drops in Microsoft and Meta, buoyant results from Amazon helped boost the market.

Investors also took the bright side of a weak employment report that showed the US economy added just 12,000 jobs last month, far below expectations in a report that was temporarily distorted by major hurricanes and the Boeing strike.

But on the positive side, the report bolstered the chance that the Fed will reduce interest rates again next week. Futures markets overwhelmingly expect a quarter-point cut.

All three major US indices advanced, led by the Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.7 percent at 42,052.19, the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 5,728.80 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8 percent to 18,239.92.

The Amazon report "countered some of the negativity that was building yesterday on the mega-cap" stocks, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Analysts expect cautious trading early next week ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday, with the result possibly delayed for several days.

Oil prices gained following reports that Iran was planning a major retaliatory strike on Israel, reviving the market's geopolitical fears.

Expectations of a major rate cut by the Fed, like the bumper 50 basis point cut in September, have receded after data showed strong economic growth in the United States and inflation just above the central bank's long-term two percent target.

But the "lower-than-expected jobs creation could prompt the Fed to follow through with the widely anticipated 25 basis point cut following their next meeting later next week," said Mahmoud Alkudsi, senior market analyst at ADSS brokerage.

Bret Kenwell, an investment analyst with eToro, said the October jobs numbers "should keep a December rate cut on the table, too." (AFP)