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The employment report this morning was precisely what the bulls were looking for. The report came in at a moderate pace of expansion, and last months recession fears were lessened a large amount when August figures were revised sharply higher. Stocks greeted the economic data with resounding cheers as the market took off in the morning and never looked back, finishing the day with strong gains. The Dow finished higher by 92 points. The Nasdaq was the strongest of the markets today, finishing up 47 points or 1.7%. The S&P 500 closed at a new all-time high of 1,557.59, higher by almost 15 on the day.

The move higher today was on strength from all areas of the market. The transports and the basic material stocks were the strongest areas, but consumer related names were very strong today as well.

The transport sector was unbelievably strong to end out the week. Railroad companies led the way higher, with many gaining 4% or more. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI) gained 5.84% on the day. The largest railroad company, Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) saw its shares rise 4.44%. Landstar Corporation (Nasdaq:LSTR), the transportation logsitics company, saw its share price jump by 7.11% on much heavier than average volume.

Basic materials returned to their leadership post today after taking a breather for a couple days earlier this week. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) rose by 3% after the company said it would sell two of its units and restructure a third. Weyerhauser Company (NYSE:WY) shares rose by 3.51% on the day. Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) continued its recent charge higher, gaining 2.56% to close at a new 52 week high.

Consumer spending related stocks received a nice boost today after the employment eased recession fears somewhat. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) shares rose by 3.65% today. Sears Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:SHLD) rose by 5.54%, capping off a very nice week for the stock. Specialty retailers had a strong day as well today. The Gap (NYSE:GPS) rose by 2.77% today, while Urban Outfitters Inc. (Nasdaq:URBN) rose 5.01%. URBN has recovered quite nicely in the last month from a disappointing summer.

I felt it appropriate to take a good look at several new 52 week highs today, after all the S&P is it a new all time high.

Notable New 52 Week Highs:

• Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq:ORCL)- Shares rose 1.92% on the day.
• DIRECTV Group Inc. (NYSE:DTV)- Shares rose 1.84% on the day.
• Guitar Center Inc. (Nasdaq:GTRC)- Gained 1.79% on 8x the normal daily volume.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE:MFE)- Shares gained 3.03% on strong volume.
• Sotheby's (NYSE:BID)- Gained 3.39% on the day. The stock has gone from $39.55 on September 10th to $53.70 today.
• First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR)- Gained 3.94% on the day. FSLR has went up over 500% in the past year.

The Dow did fall back some in the last few minutes of the day today, closing about 50 points off the days highs. The Nasdaq finished within 5 points of its daily high as it succeeded in holding the highest levels much better than did the Dow.

The volume on the exchanges today was fairly strong, as the Nasdaq finished with 2 billion shares traded and the NYSE finished at 1.26 billion. New highs outpaced new lows by 4 to 1 on the NASDAQ and 3 to 1 on the NYSE. Up volume accounted for more than 80% of the volume on both exchanges today.

This was certainly a nice way to end the week for the bulls. The "goldilocks" economy may still have a fighting chance, but time will tell. Have a great weekend!