Stocks began to rally on Friday, erasing late morning losses and reversing the trend from Thursday when the Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes each shed more than four percent.

Just before 1 p.m. Friday, the market was finding strength from the July jobs number that was better than expected and the fact that Friday did not turn into a mass sell-off like Thursday, even though the Dow dropped as much as 230 points early Friday.

Friday's market surge which saw stocks climb after noon, with the Dow gaining 110.95 points, or almost one percent, to 11,499.70, and the S&P 500 index gaining 6.88 points, or 0.57 percent just before one p.m., also coincided with headlines that the European Central Bank is ready to provide support to Italian and Spanish bonds if the respective countries commit to specific reforms.

The Nasdaq also pushed back into positive territory by one p.m. Friday, up 2.90 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,560.66.

Declining stocks still outnumbered gaining stocks eight to two on the New York Stock Exchange, as down volume dominated, and the Volatility Index, which is often dubbed the "Fear Gauge," soared to a 13-month high at just above 35. Three months ago the Volatility Index was at a four-year low.

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