US stocks closed higher on Friday as investors focused on the bright side of a mixed payrolls report that showed smaller-than-expected job cuts in August; still the unemployment rate hit a 26-year high.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 97 points to 9,441. The S&P500 Index up 13 points to 1,016 and the NASDAQ rose 36 points to 2,019.
In economic news – the Labor Department reported that employers cut 216,000 jobs from their payrolls in August, compared to 276,000 jobs that were axed in July. It was the smallest number of job cuts since August 2008. In a separate survey, the unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high of 9.7% in August from 9.4% in July. In company news: Gains were broad-based, with technology shares leading the charge. Intel Corp's (NASDAQ:INTC) shares rose 1.13% to $19.64 after the company’s chief executive said aging personal computers and Microsoft's launch of Windows 7 will encourage companies to start spending on PCs next year.
Shares of memory chip developer Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) shot up 11.42% to $17.75 on speculation that rival Samsung Electronics is likely to buy the company for between $25 to $27.50 per share.
International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) shares added 0.97% to help lead the Dow industrials' advance, rising to $117.46 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Among financial stocks, shares of mortgage fund providers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose on news that they were back in compliance with share listing rules. Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) gained 7.93% to $1.77, while Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) rose 5.35% to $1.97.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: Making the most gains on Friday was Ryanair Holdings adding 6.02% to $28.19. Wynn Resorts and Dish Network were the next best performers. Only three companies in the NASDAQ top 100 closed lower, lead by O’Reilly Auto shares which fell 0.48% to $37.55. Apollo Group and Hansen Natural also followed in the red.
