NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks rallied Friday, as investors cheered a much stronger-than-expected jobs report.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 157 points, or 1.2%, the S&P 500 (SPX) added 19 points, or 1.5%, and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) increased 46 points, or 1.6%.

The rally pushed pushed the Dow, up more than 5% in 2012, to its highest level since May 2008. The Nasdaq, up more than 11% for the year, climbed to its highest level since December 2000. The S&P 500 has gained almost 7% this year, and finished at a six-month high.

The rally was sparked by the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, which showed that the U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January, far exceeding expectations. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%, the lowest since February 2009.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters surged nearly 25% Thursday after a stellar earnings report.

After the closing bell Wednesday, Green Mountain (GMCR) reported $96 million in net income for the quarter ended in December, a 264% increase over the same quarter in the previous year that crushed analyst estimates.

After closing at $53.63 Wednesday, shares of Green Mountain, which makes the popular K-Cup, opened the trading day Thursday at $65.05 and closed at $66.42, up 23.8%.

“The value of single-serve, at-home brewing seems to be resonating with consumers,” Green Mountain CEO Lawrence Blanford said in a statement announcing the earnings.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Amazon’s fourth-quarter sales results weren’t awful, but investors went ahead and punished the stock severely anyway.

Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) earned $177 million, or 38 cents per share for the holiday quarter that ended December 31 — more than double the 17 cents per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast.

But Amazon’s revenue came in at $17.4 billion, missing the $18.3 billion that analysts expected.

The miss wasn’t massive, but investors responded by sending the stock nearly 9% lower in after-hours trading Tuesday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks recovered most of their lost ground Monday afternoon but struggled to pull out of the red as concerns over Greece continued to weigh on the market.

Stocks started the day down about 1% after the weekend came and went without Greek leaders reaching an agreement on a debt-relief deal. But as the trading session wore on, the major indexes trimmed most of those losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) finished 7 points lower, or 0.1%. Earlier, the blue chip index had declined 131 points. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 3 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) slumped 5 points, or 0.2%.

Full Story at Stock Markets – Jan. 30, 2012 – CNNMoney

Stocks trim losses, but end in red on Greek woes

NEW YORK — January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you’re afraid to miss the ride, there’s still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

The new year lured buyers into growth-related sectors, the ones that were more beaten down last year. The economy is getting better, but not dramatically. Earnings are beating expectations, but at a lower rate than in recent quarters. Nothing too bad is coming out of Europe’s debt crisis — and nothing good, either — at least not yet.

“No one item is a major positive, but collectively, it’s been enough to tilt it towards net buying,” said John Schlitz, chief market technician at Instinet in New York.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — This has been a volatile year for the stock market. But one sector has been consistently earning a windfall for investors: health insurers that provide private Medicare plans to seniors.

Among the top-performing Fortune 500 stocks of 2011, three – WellCare Health Plans (WCG, Fortune 500), Humana (HUM, Fortune 500), and Centene (CNC, Fortune 500) — were health insurers with a high proportion of Medicare Advantage enrollees. WellCare’s share price has nearly doubled while Humana and Centene are up about 50%.

UnitedHealth Group (UHC) and Aetna (AET, Fortune 500), each with significant shares of Medicare Advantage patients, also inked gains of more than 35% in 2011.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks ended lower Friday, logging the worst weekly losses in two months, as eurozone fears continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 26 points, or 0.2%, finishing in the red for a fourth consecutive day. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 3 points, or 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropped 19 points, or 0.8%, booking their eighth consecutive daily declines.

Worries about Europe’s debt crisis continued to dominate the week amid a series of lackluster debt auctions and rising eurozone bond yields.

Stocks around the world fell sharply as investors grew anxious, with the Dow dropping 4.8%, the S&P 500 losing 4.7% and the Nasdaq tumbling more than 5% this week. That marked the worst weekly declines for all three indexes since mid-September.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — American International Group is back in the red. Way in the red.

The bailed out insurer posted a net loss of $4.1 billion on Thursday, a loss per share of $2.16 for the third quarter. While analysts hadn’t expected the company to post a profit, the size of the loss exceeded expectations.

The outsized loss sent AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) shares lower after the closing bell, with prices dropping more than 1% to $24.35.

And that’s bad news for taxpayers, since the U.S. Treasury still owns a substantial chunk of AIG.

Back in 2008, the government agreed to help the giant insurer get back on its feet with a $180 billion lifeline. AIG has been slowly working toward paying back that loan.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks ended a strong week on a low note Friday as ongoing concerns about the European debt crisis overshadowed a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 20 points, or 0.2%, to close at 11,103. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 9 points, or 0.8%, to 1,155. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropped 27 points, or 1.1%, 2,479.

Despite the poor performance Friday, all three indexes posted gains for the week. The Dow rose 1.7%, the S&P 500 added 2.1% and the Nasdaq rose 2.6% over the last five days.

The gains were driven largely by speculation that European leaders are warming to the idea of pumping more money into troubled banks. On Thursday, the European Central Bank announced plans to increase the flow of capital to the banking system.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Stocks ended a dismal quarter with heavy losses Friday as investors remain worried about the debt crisis in Europe and the outlook for global economic growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 240 points, or 2.1%, to close at 10,913. The S&P 500 (SPX) slid 30 points, or 2.5%, to 1,131. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) fell 65 points, or 2.6%, to 2,415.

The losses capped the biggest quarterly drop for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq since the fourth quarter of 2008. The S&P 500 lost 14% and the Nasdaq fell 13% over the last three months.

Global stock markets fell in lockstep this week because investors all share a common fear: The world is slipping back into recession and governments around the world are powerless to stop it.

Two years after the world emerged from the worst financial collapse since the 1930s, a repeat is looming. European Union officials have been unable to forge a political consensus among the union’s 17 members to head off a debt default by Greece. Some of Europe’s banks won’t have the capital to withstand the expected losses on their holdings of Greek debt.

European leaders are now preparing for an “orderly” default, according to published reports.

All three major U.S. indexes were up slightly Friday after a hellish Thursday that saw the Dow Jones industrial average drop 391 points. The Dow was up about 32 points or 0.3 percent in afternoon trading Friday.

All week, traders have been stung by worries that the economy is headed for another recession. European leaders seem unable or unwilling to solve the debt crisis that threatens some of its biggest financial institutions. In the U.S., Republican and Democrats remain in a stubborn standoff that could force the government to shut down.