Dow Ended at Five-Year High on Jobs

Stocks rose to five-year highs on Friday, with the Dow closing above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007, after jobs and manufacturing data showed the economy’s recovery remains on track. The Dow industrials rose 149.21 points, or 1.08%, to 14,009.79, giving it a weekly rise of 0.8%. The S&P 500 index (SNC:SPX) added 15.06 points, or 1.01%, to 1,513.17, up 0.7% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 36.97 points, or 1.18%, to 3,179.10, up 0.9% for the week.

The Labor Department said that in November and December the economy added 127,000 more jobs than first thought. The manufacturing figures came in a survey from financial data firm Markit. Its latest purchasing managers’ index rose to 55.8 last month, up from 54 in December. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

Facebook is betting that this year it can extend console-style action games beyond Microsoft Corp’s Xbox or Sony Corp’s PlayStation onto the world’s largest social network.

The launch of the iPhone 5 and the declining popularity of non-smartphones have made Apple the biggest seller of phones in the U.S. for the first time, research firm Strategy Analytics said Friday.

Several major automakers, including General Motors Co (GM) and Toyota Motor Corp, posted better-than-expected U.S. vehicle sales for January, kicking off the fourth straight year of the sector’s recovery from the depths of recession.

U.S. investigators are moving swiftly and making progress in their investigation of a battery fire on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner in Boston this month, a spokeswoman for the U.S.


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