The huge news today was the $44.6 billion offer from Microsoft to buy Yahoo. The proposed merger would form a massive company and a very viable competitor to Google. Yahoo said it would evaluate the proposal promptly. The merger talk boosted stocks throughout the day today, ending a strong week on the street. The Dow gained 92.83 points on the day today. The Nasdaq rose by 23.5. The S&P 500 gained 16.87 points, or 1.22%. 
Financials, basic materials, and energy stocks were particuarly strong today.
The financials have continued to perform well since last weeks emergency 75 basis point rate cut. These names that were unloved for so long have seemingly come back into favor. Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) charged higher by 9.82% today on strong volume. Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) both gained nicely today, rising 4.8% and 6.78% respectively. Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) gained 3.61% as the brokers performed very well today. The insurance industry was also strong, with Metlife (NYSE:MET) and Travelers (NYSE:TRV) both gaining 2.41% and 3.18% respectively.
Basic material stocks were very strong today. Southern Copper (NYSE:PCU) shares rose 4.55% today. United States Steel (NYSE:X) gained 5.15% on the news of a $300 million capital investment program. Allegheny Technologies (NYSE:ATI) also gained 5.31% on the day today. Teck Cominco (NYSE:TCK), a Canadian mining company, saw its shares jump by 7.62% today.
Interestingly enough energy stocks were a leader in the market today despite the fact that oil prices fell sharply on the day. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV) shares gained 4.14% on the day. Apache (NYSE:APA) shares rose 3.26% today. Cameron International (NYSE:CAM) shares rebounded from yesterday's beating and gained back 5.51% on the day. Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) led the very strong coal stocks higher today, gaining 12.24% after reporting impressive earnings.
Before the merger offer between Microsoft and Yahoo became the story of the day, today was supposed to be the day that the jobs number took all the headlines. That jobs number came in far weaker than just about anyone had predicted. The economy lost 17,000 jobs in the month of January. Bloomberg had surveyed 80 economists and none of them had expected a decline. Factory and government payrolls were hit particularly hard in the month. This number certainly raised recession fears even further today, but it also raised the likelihood of further rate cuts from the Federal Reserve at its next meeting in March.
This was the strongest week in a while for stocks. The S&P 500 actually gained an impressive 4.9% for the week. Have a great weekend!
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