At 9:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 142.99 points, or 0.45%, at 31,799.41, the S&P 500 was up 21.36 points, or 0.54%, at 3,988.21, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 44.49 points, or 0.38%, at 11,829.61.

We feel traders can go for a short straddle strategy where maximum profit will be made in the range of 37,850 and 40,649. However, one needs to be careful above these ranges in the current weekly settlement.Nifty Bank has to cross and hold above 39,500 zone for an up move towards Rs 39,750 and 40,000 zones, whereas supports are placed at 39,250 and 38,888 zones.

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Nonfarm payrolls increased by 315,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Data for July was revised slightly down to show payrolls surging 526,000 instead of 528,000 as previously reported. That marked the 20th straight month of job growth.

While the highest target for ITC goes up to Rs 390, according to Trendlyne data, the average estimate of Rs 347 shows an upside potential of around 8.2 per cent from current prices.Out of the 32 analysts covering the stock, none of them have a sell rating while 21 have a strong buy rating.

Ahead of the release of the data, the Indian equity market ended directionless, in continuation to the prevailing consolidation phase after posting a steep rally from 15,200 to 18,000 levels.Besides the US jobs data, crude oil prices, FII flows and the movement of the US dollar index would be the key triggers. Technical analysts say the crucial support for Nifty50 is 17,300 while resistance is at 17,800.

The Nifty Bank index closed 0.3 per cent up at 39421.0.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed up 36.74 points at 58803.33