New York, April 2 (IANS) US stocks moved up Friday amid reports that the country's unemployment rate fell to a two-year low in March.

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 56.99 points, or 0.46 percent, to 12,376.72 while the Standard & Poor's increased 6.58 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,332.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 8.53 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,789.60.

Among a number of economic reports released on the day, the Labour Department report said the unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent, the lowest since March 2009, largely due to the fact that companies added workers at the fastest two-month pace since before the recession began.

According to the report, about 216,000 new jobs were added to the economy last month, offsetting layoffs in local governments.

Another report by the Institute for Supply Management showed the Purchasing Managers Index registered 61.2 percent in March as expected, while production expanded at a faster pace despite a slowdown in new orders and order backlogs.

The Commerce Department report said construction spending fell 1.4 percent in February, the lowest level in more than 10 years, with previous recession low registered in August.

Nasdaq OMX Group and Intercontinental Exchange said Friday they are going to make a $11.3-billion bid for NYSE Euronext, considered as a challenge to Deutsche Boerse which said it would purchase NYSE Euronext for about $10 billion.