Stocks Soar to Record Highs
The markets rose to record highs today in a broad-based rally fueled by a positive jobs report and a predictable Federal Reserve.</br></br>The buying spree touched companies of every size in virtually ever sector. The three leading barometers -- the Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq composite -- all posted new highs.</br></br>Analysts cited two main reasons for the market's best week since October: a government report this morning showing the nation gained more jobs than predicted, and continuing relief that the Fed did nothing more than expected when it raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points Wednesday.</br></br>"There was Fed euphoria today," said David Blitzer, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. "They did what everybody expected them to do. So everybody thought they must be smart, we must be smart."</br></br>Led by American Express, the Dow Jones industrials rose for a sixth consecutive day, gaining 72.82, or 0.7 percent. It closed at 11,139.24 -- its first record since May. The blue-chip barometer added its biggest weekly point gain, rising 586 points, or 5.3 percent.