Wall Street ended higher on Friday despite abysmal jobless figures, showing the United States lost more than half a million jobs last month, with investors hopeful that the dire situation would necessitate more government help. The Dow Jones industrial average traded in a 568-point range on Friday and left Wall Street with moderate losses for the week. The market also reacted well to an upbeat forecast from Hartford Financial Services Group Incorporated, which moderated investor fears that profits among financial firms would continue to fall. Hartford raised its profit expectations for the year. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow industrials jumped 259.18, or 3.09 percent, to 8,635.42 after falling by 258 and rising as much as 310 in the volatile trading late in the session. Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 30.85, or 3.65 percent, to 876.07, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 63.75, or 4.41 percent, to 1,509.31. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 21.56, or 4.91 percent, to 461.09. The New York Stock Exchange composite rose 168.99 to close at 5,401.25. The American Stock Exchange composite rose 36.88 to close at 1,278.16. The price of a barrel of light, sweet crude oil for January delivery fell $2.86 to $40.81.
