Stocks See Their Best Day in Nearly a Month

Stocks had their best day in almost a month Friday as major indexes closed at record highs after a strong jobs report boosted investors' confidence for continued economic growth, the AP reports. Both the Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite set records after the Labor Department's July hiring report showed far bigger gains than economists expected. Banks rose the most amid the prospect of higher interest rates. Bank of America and Citigroup both gained 4%. The S&P 500 gained 19 points, or 0.9%, to 2,183. The Nasdaq rose 55 points, or 1.1%, to 5,221. The Dow Jones industrial average remains below its own record high set last month, but still rose 191 points, or 1%, to 18,544. (More stock market stories.)