Money | stock market Nasdaq Hits 11-Year High; Dow Rises 157 It's Dow's best finish since 2008 By John Johnson Posted Feb 3, 2012 3:10 PM CST Copied Trader Edward Schreier, right, works with specialist John Alatzas, center, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Today's rosy jobs report did wonders for the markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, in fact, closed at an 11-year high, reports MarketWatch, while the Dow finished at its highest level since May 2008, notes the Wall Street Journal. The numbers: Dow: Up 157, 1.2%, to 12,862 Nasdaq: Up 46, 1.6%, to 2,906 S&P 500: Up 19, 1.5%, to 1,345 “The jobs report was a really solid number," says an analyst at Charles Schwab. "It beat expectations and continues the trend we’ve seen last few months. The economy is doing better than a lot of people are giving it credit for." Read These Next 11 people hurt in a "brutal act of violence" in Michigan. We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. A parent's nightmare, in a white cardboard box. The humans survived this flight; the deer on the ground didn't. Report an error