S&P 500 index closes at highest level since 2007
BY Wire reports
Saturday, January 05, 2013
1/05/13 at 5:08 AM
The Standard & Poor's 500 closed at its highest level in five years Friday after a report showed that hiring held up in December. (See story on E6).
The S&P 500 finished up 7.10 points at 1,466.47, its highest close since December 2007.
The index began its descent from a record close of 1,565.15 in October 2007, as the early signs of the financial crisis began to emerge. The index bottomed out in March 2009 at 676.53 before staging a recovery that has seen it more than double in value and move to within 99 points of its all-time peak.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished 43.85 points higher Friday at 13,435.21. It gained 3.8 percent for the week, its biggest weekly advance since June. The Nasdaq composite index closed up 1.09 point at 3,101.66.
Stocks surged this week after Congress passed a bill to avoid the "fiscal cliff."
