US markets

U.S. stocks rose slightly Friday, contributing to the market's biggest weekly gain in two months, as strong earnings boosted the technology sector and traders largely chalked up a disappointing January jobs report to stormy weather. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 29.89 points, or 0.25%, to 12092.15. The measure posted a 2.27% gain for the week, its largest one-week increase since the first week of December.

Friday's advance was led by a rise of 45 cents, or 1.5%, to 31.19 in Kraft Foods and an increase of 71 cents, or 1.1%, to 63.61 in Procter & Gamble. J.P. Morgan Chase limited the advance, falling 87 cents, or 1.9%, to 44.59, a day after new details were reported about a lawsuit claiming that the New York bank ignored or dismissed warning signs about Bernard Madoff's fraud, even as it earned hundreds of millions of dollars from its relationship with his investment firm. The Nasdaq Composite rose 15.42, or 0.56%, to 2769.30 Friday, and jumped 3.07% for the week. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index advanced 3.77, or 0.29%, to 1310.87. It climbed 2.71% on the week.

The technology sector led the climb, driven by a jump of 4.83, or 27%, to 22.76 in JDS Uniphase. The company, which makes products for telecommunications companies, cable operators and network-equipment makers, swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit on strength in its optical segment.The company forecast current-quarter revenue above analysts' expectations. The small gains seen across the broader stock market came despite a lower-than-expected gain in nonfarm payrolls for January.

Traders rationalized that the report was hurt by harsh weather, while it also was seen as indicating the Federal Reserve's stimulus plan is unlikely to be shortened. Nonfarm payrolls rose 36,000 last month as private-sector employers added 50,000 jobs, the Labor Department said. The December number was revised to show an increase of 121,000 jobs, from a previous estimate of 103,000. Economists had expected an increase of 136,000 jobs in January.

[Get this delivered to your inbox for FREE. Subscribe to our daily Markets Newsletter.]

European markets

European stocks ended higher Friday, with utilities and financial stocks posting particularly strong gains, after data showed an unexpected decline in the U.S. unemployment rate. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% to 285.90, finishing higher for a fourth consecutive session. It rose 1.9% on the week. In a speech Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sounded more upbeat about the U.S. economic outlook, boosting investor sentiment, according to Gallagher. In France, the CAC 40 index gained 0.3% to 4,047.21, as shares of building-materials firm Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA rallied 3.6% after Royal Bank of Scotland reiterated its buy rating on the stock. In Germany, the DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to 7,216.21, buoyed by a 2.5% rise for Deutsche Bank AG. Bernstein Research raised earnings and price targets for Deutsche Bank, saying the lender is an attractive near-term opportunity. Shares of Munich Re rallied nearly 3% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral. The FTSE 100 index gained 0.2% to 5,997.38. Shares of Cairn Energy PLC fell 2.7% on concerns over its deal to sell its stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Resources PLC. Vedanta shares rose 0.9%. Banking stocks gained, as Goldman Sachs upgraded the European banking sector to overweight from neutral. Barclays PLC rose 2.4% in London, and UniCredit SpA closed up 2.1% in Milan.

Asian markets

Most Asian markets advanced Friday in light holiday trading, with Japanese stocks buoyed by a proposed merger between Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries and an upbeat profit forecast from Softbank Corp. Indonesian shares overcame early losses to rise, cheering a decision by the central bank to raise interest rates in the face of high inflation. Trading was thin on some bourses given that markets in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam were closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.1% in Tokyo, while the PSE Composite index finished 0.4% lower in Manila. Indonesian shares overcame volatility to rise 0.4% after its central bank raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 6.75%. Thailand's SET added 0.4%. Mergers-and-acquisition news in the steel sector bolstered the Tokyo market. Shares of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries surged after the two agreed to merge in a deal that would create the world's No.2 steel producer and will likely fire up further industry acquisitions. Nippon Steel surged 9.1% and Sumitomo Metal soared 16.1%, while peers Kobe Steel and JFE Holdings gained 2.8% and 2.1%, respectively.

Base metals

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Friday, following a complex-wide rise that saw copper and tin hit fresh highs. Copper made a much-anticipated push above $10,000 a metric ton, after treading water just below the psychologically important high it set the day before, while tin hit a fresh high of $31,300/ton. Buoyed by the strength of copper and tin, the rest of the complex moved higher. LME three-month copper closed at $10,050/ton, up 1.2% on Thursday's PM kerb close, after setting a new high of $10,100/ton. Tin put in the strongest performance of the complex Friday, closing up 2.2% on the day at $31,200/ton.

Oil

Crude-oil prices tumbled Friday as traders attempted to get ahead of any shift in sentiment that would accompany a change in Egypt's leadership. The prospect that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could relinquish power over the weekend--when there's no electronic trading of oil futures--was enough to push the March crude-oil contract $1.51, or 1.7%, lower to $89.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange, which breached the $100-a-barrel mark Monday in the wake of the protests in Egypt, fell below that level, closing $1.93 lower at $99.83 a barrel. Gold prices fell slightly as a mixed U.S. jobs report and continued unease about turmoil in Egypt did little to spur new refuge demand for the precious metal. The most actively traded gold contract, for April delivery, settled down $4, or 0.3%, at $1,349 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.