How The Major Stock Indexes Fared On Friday

The Associated Press

A drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years propelled stocks higher Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at its highest level since May 2008, before the worst days of the financial crisis.

The Nasdaq composite index closed at its highest level since December 2000.

Before the market opened, the Labor Department said companies hired 243,000 employees in January. That's the strongest job growth in nine months. The increase in hiring pushed the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 156.82 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 12,862.23.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 19.36 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,344.90,

The Nasdaq composite added 45.98 points, or 1.6 percent, to 2,905.66.

For the week:

The Dow is up 201.77 points, or 1.6 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 28.57 points, or 2.2 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 89.11 points, or 3.2 percent.

For the year so far:

The Dow is up 644.67 points, or 5.3 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 87.30 points, or 6.9 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 300.51 points, or 11 percent.

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