NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks kicked off the first session of October on an upbeat note, buoyed by strength in the energy and materials sectors.

Shortly after the opening bell on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 258.84 points, or 0.76 percent, to 34,102.76. The S&P 500 added 17.77 points, or 0.41 percent, to 4,325.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 21.29 points, or 0.15 percent, to 14,469.87.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors advanced in early morning trading, with energy and materials up 1.3 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, outpacing the rest. The technology and health care groups, however, struggled.

The above market moves followed a volatile September on Wall Street, which saw the Dow slip 4.3 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 4.8 percent and 5.3 percent respectively for the month.

Investors looked to a key inflation gauge in the United States.

The Commerce Department said on Friday that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, climbed 0.3 percent in August, above the 0.2 percent consensus, for a 3.6 percent year-over-year rise.

“PCE inflation showed no signs of slowing down in August,” Will Compernolle, senior economist at FHN Financial, said Friday in a note.

“Inflation is still high as supply chain bottlenecks persist and keep firms from fully adjusting capacity,” Compernolle added.