Stocks rose significantly Friday at the end of a strong week, with the Dow industrials and Standard & Poor's 500 hitting their highest levels in more than a year, as investors extended a seven-month rally. This week has seen a wave of positive news on the U.S. and global economies, helping to relieve concerns that the stock market has gotten too far ahead of any recovery. Such worries caused the sell-off at the end of the third quarter. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to strengthen cooperation around the world and trying to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons. The announcement was a shock, as Obama had not been mentioned as a possible candidate. In economic news, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly to $30.7 billion in August from $31.9 billion the previous month. The report showed that exports rose, adding to bets that the global economy is recovering. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery rose 8 cents to $71.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for December delivery fell $7.70 to $1,048.60 an ounce one session after recording its third consecutive record high. The U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and the yen, reversing its recent decline against a basket of currencies. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 78.07, or 0.8 percent, to 9,864.94. The broader S&P 500 index rose 6.01, or 0.6 percent, to 1,071.49. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 15.35, or 0.7 percent, to 2,139.28. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 24.87 to 7,015.54. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 7.96 to 1,810.64. And the Russell 2000 index rose 7.17 to 614.92.
