Stocks Stage Impressive Rally

Updated from 4:19 p.m. EST

Stocks finished sharply higher Friday afternoon led by tech and interest-rate sensitive stocks, following the government's January employment report, as traders bet softer-than-expected payroll growth will keep the Fed on hold.

The Dow rallied 97.48 points, or 0.9%, to 10,593.03; the Nasdaq surged 44.45 points, or 2.2%, to 2064.01, its best day since November; and the S&P 500 improved 14.17 points, or 1.3%, to 1142.76.

Only six of the Dow's 30 components finished lower on the day.

Despite a banner day, the Nasdaq failed to finish in positive territory this week and extended its losing streak to three straight weeks. The tech-heavy index dropped 0.1% on the week, while the Dow and S&P 500 both climbed 1%. ...