[Wildcatk23]

The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through to its highest close since May 2008, back before the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapse, as investors increasingly put aside fears of economic calamity and focused again on fundamentals.

News of strong job growth, a three-year low in unemployment and other positive developments Friday pushed the Dow ahead 156.82 points, or 1.23%, to 12862.23, its first triple-digit gain since Jan. 3. The blue-chip index would have to rise just 10% to reach its record close of 14164.53, hit Oct. 9, 2007.

The Nasdaq Composite Index, dominated by surging technology stocks, jumped 1.61% to 2905.66, its highest close since December 2000, as hopes spread that global growth would be strong enough to boost demand for technology gear.

Financial and industrial stocks also posted strong gains on those same economic hopes. Utility stocks, whose dividends make them good investments in a weaker economy—and which led the market amid economic doubts late last year—were among Friday's weaklings.

The Dow's surge is a sign of the extent to which investors have put aside the global fears that gripped them last summer. Then, the Dow fell almost 20%, which would have marked a new bear market.

"People are deciding that it may not be the end of the world after all. They are getting used to the idea that there are some European countries that are struggling but that the U.S. is continuing to plod along," said Janna Sampson, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments, which oversees $2.6 billion in Lisle, Ill.