Wall Street trade was likely to remain in low gear next week as investors increasingly expect the government to pump cash into the markets to boost the lagging economy.

The week was marked by apprehension ahead of Friday's key monthly unem-ployment report, but even after it showed the economy shed more jobs than expected in September, stocks remained stable to close the week with gains.

"It is interesting that we're celebrating the fact that the Federal Reserve feels that the economic conditions warrant more monetary policy," said Art Hogan, analyst at Jefferies.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.75 percent to 11,006.48 points, its highest level since early May.

The broader S&P 500 index rose 1.65 percent to 1,165.15 points while the technology-rich Nasdaq composite index gained 31.16 points to finish the week at 2,401.91, a 1.3 percentgain.

In its keenly awaited report, the Labor Department said the economy lost a higher-than-expected 95,000 non-farm jobs in September while the unem-ployment rate held unchanged at 9.6 percent from August.

Government payrolls fell by a larger-than-expected 159,000, while privatesector payroll employment rose by64,000, below expectations.

Most analysts agree that the overall weak report left the Federal Reserve with little choice but to step in to prop up the economy after it said last month it was prepared to intervene, with the only question being when.

"This past week's data ended with a thud. After the disappointing September employment report, we now expect the Federal Reserve to resume large-scale asset purchases in November rather than December," said Aaron Smith of Moody's Economy.com.

"Until confidence is restored, the recovery will likely remain stuck in neutral as businesses remain hesitant to hire and invest."