By Noel Randewich and Amruta Khandekar (Reuters) – U.S. stocks closed higher on FridayA, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching their highest closing levels since early 2022 after a robust U.S. jobs report fueled investor optimism about a soft landing for the economy. Investors pared bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in March after a Labor Department report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 jobs in November, compared with an estimated increase of 180,000. The unemployment rate slipped to 3.7%, while average earnings edged up to 0.4% on a monthly basis, compared wit…