* RIM boosts tech sector after strong results
* Jobless rate rises to highest since 1983
* Dow up 0.5 pct, S&P 500 up 1 pct, Nasdaq up 1.2 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates with weekly percentage gains for all three U.S.
stock indexes, adds context on the Dow in new paragraph 7)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday,
with the Dow marking its best four-week winning streak since
1933, lifted by robust results from Research in Motion and
comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said the central
bank will do everything it can to stabilize banks.
Growing conviction that the worst is over for the economy
helped Wall Street shrug off dour jobs data showing the
highest unemployment rate since 1983.
The Nasdaq outperformed other indexes, helped by a 21
percent jump in the U.S.-listed stock of Research in Motion
<RIM.TO><RIMM.O> after the BlackBerry maker, a Canadian
company, posted surprisingly strong results on brisk retail
demand and gave a rosy outlook after Thursday's closing bell.
"The move into technology reflects investors rotating
funds into groups likely to benefit from an economic recovery,
even though a turnaround in corporate profits in that sector
might still be a few quarters away," said Michael Sheldon,
chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport,
Connecticut.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> climbed 39.51
points, or 0.50 percent, to 8,017.59. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 8.12 points, or 0.97 percent, to 842.50.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> gained 19.24 points, or
1.20 percent, to 1,621.87.
For the week, the Dow rose 3.1 percent, while the S&P 500
advanced 3.3 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 5 percent.
S&P UP NEARLY 25 PERCENT VS. MARCH LOW
At Friday's close, the S&P 500 was up 24.5 percent from a
12-year low set on March 9, helped mainly by growing optimism
that the economic slowdown is starting to moderate.
The Dow closed above 8,000 for the first time since Feb. 9
after four straight days of gains.
Research in Motion, a technology bellwether, surged 20.8
percent to $59.29 on the Nasdaq, while IBM <IBM.N> ranked as
the Dow's biggest gainer, up 1.4 percent at $102.22 on the New
York Stock Exchange. The semiconductor index <.SOXX> rose 2.9
percent.
Financial stocks rose after Bernanke, the Federal Reserve
chairman, said the Fed will use "all of its tools" to
stabilize markets. []. Citigroup <C.N> advanced 4
percent to $2.85, while Bank of America <BAC.N> added 5
percent to $7.60.
An S&P index of financial companies' stocks <.GSPF> shot
up 4.2 percent. Some analysts said investors may be covering
short bets on financial stocks by buying back the shares.
Wall Street received more confirmation about deterioration
in the labor market, when data showed the U.S. unemployment
rate hit 8.5 percent, the highest level since 1983, as
employers cut 663,000 jobs in March.[] The
numbers, though, were in line with economists' forecasts.
Another report from the Institute for Supply Management
showed the U.S. services sector shrank for the sixth straight
month in March as recession-weary consumers tightened their
belts. For details see []
An index of pharmaceutical stocks <.DRG> fell 1.8 percent,
but was still up more than 9 percent from last month's lows.
Among the heaviest weights on the blue-chip Dow average were
Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N>, off 1.6 percent at $52.15, and
Merck & Co <MRK.N>, down 2 percent at $26.46.
Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with
about 1.48 billion shares changing hands, slightly below last
year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion, while on
Nasdaq, about 2.13 billion shares traded, below last year's
daily average of 2.28 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about eight
stocks rose for every five that fell.
(Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr Editing by Jan
Paschal)
