Major Averages Close Sharply Higher, At Their Best Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. The markets benefited from a positive reaction to the monthly jobs report.

Biotechnology stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 3.8 percent. The index regained ground after ending the previous session at its worst closing level in almost a month.

InterMune (ITMN), Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), and Incyte (INCY) turned in some of the biotech sector's best performances.

Significant strength was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength in the sector comes as gold for April delivery climbed $5.70 to $1,262.90 an ounce.

Electronic storage stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index rising by 1.8 percent. Imation (IMN) helped lead the sector higher after reporting a fourth quarter profit compared to a year-ago loss.

Tobacco, healthcare, defense and semiconductor stocks also posted notable gains, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow jumped 165.55 points or 1.1 percent to 15,794.08, the Nasdaq soared 68.74 points or 1.7 percent to 4,125.86 and the S&P 500 surged up 23.59 points or 1.3 percent to 1,797.02.

With the gains on the day, the major averages more than offset the sell-off seen on Monday and closed higher for the week. The S&P 500 advanced by 0.8 percent, while the Dow and the Nasdaq rose by 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.