Hopes that the recession is nearing an end boosted Wall Street on Friday and it is holding on to its early gains.

Stocks are trading at around their best levels since the middle of January after the Labor Department said non-farm payrolls fell by just 36,000 last month.

Economists had predicted a 65,000 drop although it's likely February's snow storms on the East Coast had a big impact. The unemployment rate, steady at 9.7%, had been expected to hit 9.8%.

"We cannot say how much February's payroll employment was affected by the severe weather," admitted Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall.

The positive jobs news sparked interest in recruitment companies with Monster Worldwide one of the better performers in the S&P.

The Dow Jones is up 82 at 10,526, the tech-stacked Nasdaq Composite is 27 points, or more than 1% higher, at 2,319, while the broader S&P 500 is 11 better at 1,134.

Apple rallied over 3% on news that the iPad tablet computer will go on sale in the US on 3 April, although Britons will have to wait until the end of the month.

Rising commodity prices helped aluminium giant Alcoa and oil companies Chevron and Exxon Mobil advance. Oil prices are near $82 a barrel and gold has topped $1,140 an ounce.

Coal miners are also popular after news that Essar Group intends to buy Trinity Coal for up to $600m. Massey Energy is the best performer on the S&P.

Tax preparation company H R Block is also up ahead of Monday's results.

S&P 500 - Risers
Massey Energy Co (MEE) $48.92 +5.16%
Monster Worldwide Inc. (MWW) $15.77 +4.44%
American International Group Inc. (AIG) $27.86 +4.31%
Best Buy Co Inc. (BBY) $38.69 +4.15%
Waters Corp. (WAT) $64.15 +4.11%
Titanium Metals Corp. (TIE) $13.69 +4.03%
Dean Foods Co (DF) $15.65 +3.92%
Ebay Inc. (EBAY) $24.66 +3.68%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $33.35 +3.67%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $218.36 +3.63%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Frontier Communications Company (FTR) $7.27 -4.47%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $104.08 -3.83%
Centurytel Inc. (CTL) $33.06 -3.19%
Monsanto Company (MON) $73.01 -1.54%
Tyson Foods Inc. Class A (TSN) $17.25 -1.43%
Novell Inc. (NOVL) $5.94 -1.16%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $38.89 -0.92%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $39.18 -0.63%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) $36.05 -0.52%
International Game Tech (IGT) $17.08 -0.52%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $13.82 +2.90%
American Express Inc. (AXP) $39.94 +2.70%
Boeing Co. (BA) $67.16 +2.46%
Bank Of America Corp. (BAC) $16.69 +1.80%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $74.19 +1.52%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $66.38 +1.50%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $42.51 +1.41%
3M Co. (MMM) $82.15 +1.39%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $33.02 +1.38%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $59.23 +1.33%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $29.13 -0.48%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $63.38 -0.46%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $28.51 -0.43%
AT&T Inc. (T) $24.87 -0.36%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $63.42 -0.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Ebay Inc. (EBAY) $24.66 +3.68%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $33.35 +3.67%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $218.36 +3.63%
Liberty Media Corp. Interactive Class A (LINTA) $13.45 +3.62%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $21.26 +3.25%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $42.99 +3.07%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $17.17 +3.06%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $67.75 +2.82%
News Corp. Class A (NWSA) $14.25 +2.52%
Logitech International S.A. (LOGI) $16.41 +2.50%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $518.87 -0.94%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $38.89 -0.92%
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) $20.02 -0.55%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $50.81 -0.48%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $28.51 -0.43%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $60.55 -0.41%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $11.00 -0.31%
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $69.80 -0.26%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $128.34 -0.15%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $41.55 -0.12%

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