TECH STOCKS: Moderate Economic Data Eases Rate FearsTECH STOCKS: Moderate Economic Data Eases Rate Fears

All the major indexes ended higher Friday, despite lukewarm economic news. The Labor Department reported Friday that first-time jobless claims rose 17,000 last week, but worker productively slid from 9.5% in the third quarter to 2.9% in the fourth quarter.

The economy created 112,000 new jobs in January, 76,000 in the retail sector.

Our information 100 had the biggest percentage gain, rising 7.6 points, or 2.3%, to 332.67, though it was down 0.2% for the week. The Nasdaq also closed higher, rising 44.45 points, or 2.2%, to end at 2,064.01. The S&P 500 rose 14.17 points, or 1.3%, to end the week at 1,142.76. The Dow rose 97.48 points, or 0.9%, to close at 10,593.03.

The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock rose 69 cents, or 1.9%, to close at $36.47 on higher-than-normal volume of nearly 107 million shares.