Awwal 02, Feb 05, 2011, SPA -- Stocks showed modest gains on Friday after the government reported a sharp drop in the unemployment rate. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to nine percent in January, the lowest rate since April 2009 and a sharp fall from 9.4 percent in December. At the same time, the government said that 36,000 new jobs were created last month, the fewest in four months. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 29.89 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 12,092.15. . The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.77 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,310.87. The Nasdaq composite gained 15.42 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,769.30. The S&P 500 rose 2.7 percent for the week and the Nasdaq three percent. Light Crude oil commodities were at $89.03 a barrel-a decrease of 1.67 percent.
