Friday

Thank goodness it's Friday and finally warming up outside! This week was a much better week for the market. Stocks hit new intraday highs in a rally sparked by employment data that boosted investors' confidence in the broader U.S. economy. In the week's key economic release, the Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls fell by 36,000 in February. Economists were expecting a February drop of about 75,000, partly due to severe weather conditions. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, which is certainly not where we want it to be, but better than the 9.8% rate economists expected. In other markets, the dollar remained flat, while the pound, yen and euro gained. DJIA +122.06 Nasdaq +34.04 S&P 500 +15.73.