NEW YORK - WALL Street put an upbeat spin on Friday on the government's report that the nation lost more than half a million jobs last month. Stocks reversed early losses and closed sharply higher as the data raised hopes that Washington will again step in to help the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average traded in a 568-point range on Friday as investors' shock dissipated over the Labour Department's report that employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November compared with the 320,00 that economists forecast.