US STOCKS-'Goldilocks' jobs data propels Wall St to best day in a month

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* Apple rises on report of ramp up in iPhone production
* Nonfarm payrolls increase by 136,000 in Sept
* HP Inc falls on $1 bln restructuring charge
* Indexes: Dow +1.12%, S&P 500 +1.11%, Nasdaq +1.14%

(Updates to afternoon)
By Noel Randewich
Oct 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street jumped on Friday as moderate
jobs growth in September offered relief from a spate of dismal
economic data this week that has rankled markets and fueled
concerns that the world's largest economy may be sliding into a
recession.
A rally in technology stocks led by Apple Inc AAPL.O also
helped lift the benchmark indexes at the end of a volatile week.
After losing about 3% over Tuesday and Wednesday, the S&P 500
.SPX and Dow .DJI were on course for their best session in a
month.
The Labor Department's report showed nonfarm payrolls
increased by 136,000 last month and the unemployment rate
dropped to a 50-year low, but manufacturing payrolls declined
for the first time in six months. "It's sort of a Goldilocks report: it's not strong enough to
move the Federal Reserve away from cutting rates at the end of
October, but it's not weak enough to make you concerned about
the labor market or the consumer," said Shawn Snyder, head of
investment strategy at Citi Personal Wealth Management in New
York.
Bets the Fed will cut interest rates have surged this week
after a dramatic contraction in U.S. manufacturing, cooling
private sector hiring and a fall in service sector activity
pointed to widening fallout from the U.S.-China trade war.
Traders see a 77.5% chance that the central bank will lower
borrowing costs at its policy meeting later this month, up from
40% on Monday. The Fed cut rates in September for the second
time this year and said future reductions would be
"data-dependent."
With fears related to the trade war and its effect on the
U.S. economy weighing on sentiment, the S&P 500 is up 1% over
the past 12 months, and it is down about 3% from its record high
close in July.
"Although market participants have been selling stocks and
buying bonds, at the end of the day you say, 'Gee, I still have
to have some return for my investment, and that's going to come
from stocks,'" said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager
at GLOBALT Investments.
Apple Inc AAPL.O shares rose 2.8% after a report that the
company would ramp up production of iPhone 11 models.
The S&P information technology index .SPLRCT climbed 1.5%,
while the Philadelphia chip index .SOX advanced 1.3%.
At 2:31 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 1.12% at 26,495.69 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained
1.11% to 2,943.02.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC jumped 1.14% to 7,961.77.
HP Inc HPQ.N tumbled 10.1% after the computer maker said
it would cut up to 16% of its workforce as part of a
restructuring plan that would result in an overall charge of $1
billion. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.32-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.71-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 14 new highs and 59 new lows.