NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A benign November employment report triggered a buying spree on Wall Street Friday and fueled the Nasdaq and broad-based S&P 500 to record closes. The report suggested inflation is well behaved and soothed investors’ fears of an interest rate hike in the near future.
According to preliminary data, th e Dow Jones industrial average surged 248.65 points, or 2.3 percent, to 11,287.71, the eighth largest point gain in the history of the index. On the New York Stock Exchange, gainers beat losers 1,820 to 1,258 as trading volume reached an active 981 million shares.
The Nasdaq composite rallied 67.98 points, or nearly 2 percent, to 3,520.76, conquering the 3,500 mark for the first time. The S&P 500 index gained 24.13 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,433.17.
Treasury prices rose sharply following the employment report release, with the bellwether 30-year bond gaining 23/32 of a point in price, lowering its yield to 6.26 percent from 6.32 percent late Thursday.
In the currency markets, the dollar was virtually flat against both the euro and the yen. 
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