DOW - The bulls finally made it happened!

12,862.23  +156.82  +1.23%

Stocks ended near session highs Friday, with the Dow finishing at its best level since May 2008, buoyed by a monthly government employment report that blew past estimates and a handful of impressive economic news.


All three major averages logged impressive gains for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 156.82 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 12,862.23, its highest close in almost 3-1/2 years. The blue-chip index also logged its first triple-digit move since January 3. BofA [BAC 7.84 0.39 (+5.23%) ] and Caterpillar [CAT 113.94 3.61 (+3.27%) ] led the session's gainers.




The S&P 500 rallied 19.36 points, or 1.46 percent, to finish at 1,344.90. The Nasdaq soared 45.98 points, or 1.61 percent, to end at 2,905.66, hitting its highest since the tech bubble of 2000.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, tumbled near 17.

For the week, the Dow climbed 1.59 percent, the S&P soared 2.17 percent, and the Nasdaq surged 3.16 percent.

The economy created 243,000 new positions in January, the largest increase since April 2011, according to a government report, blowing past estimates of 150,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate slipped to 8.3 percent.