NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stock markets opened broadly higher Friday, buoyed in part by an August employment report that showed a slowing economy -- reducing, in the minds of investors -- the risk of future Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Shortly after the open, the Nasdaq composite index rose 43.63 to 4,249.98, adding on to the tech-heavy indicator's 11 percent gain in August. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 49.95 to 11,265.05, while the S&P 500 advanced 6.36 to 1,524.04.
Technology stocks piloted the advance for the two major indicators. On the Nasdaq, leaders included Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates), up $1.31 to $92.25; Qualcomm (QCOM: Research, Estimates), up $1.25 to $61; and Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates), $1 higher at $127.94. Dow leaders included IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates), up $2.03 to $134.06, and Hewlett-Packard (HWP: Research, Estimates), up $1.94 to $122.56.
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