Major Averages Close Near Their Best Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside over the course of the trading day on Friday. The Dow nearly offset yesterday's steep loss but still finished below the record closing high set on Wednesday.

After falling sharply in recent sessions on valuation concerns, biotechnology stocks showed a substantial rebound. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index surged up by 2.6 percent after closing lower for three consecutive sessions.

Immunogen (IMGN) helped lead the biotech sector higher, with the company's stock soaring by 8.8 percent on the day.

Brokerage stocks also saw considerable strength, resulting in a 1.9 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. BGC Partners (BGCP) posted a standout gain, jumping by 5.8 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among airline stocks, which rebounded after helping to lead the sell-off on Thursday. After ending the previous session down by 2.7 percent, the NYSE Arca Airline Index rose by 1.6 percent.

Internet, healthcare, networking, and computer hardware stocks also saw notable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages ended the day sharply higher, near their best levels of the session. The Dow climbed 123.37 points or 0.7 percent to 17,100.18, the Nasdaq surged up 68.70 points or 1.6 percent to 4,432.15 and the S&P 500 jumped 20.10 points or 1 percent to 1,978.22.

Even with the volatility seen over the past two sessions, the major average still moved higher for the week. The Dow advanced by 0.9 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.