TECH STOCKS: The Dow Nears 10,000

Stocks raced higher Monday as investors shrugged off Friday's disappointing employment report. "Even though folks are focusing on the jobs report being a lot weaker than anticipated, the bottom line is we still created jobs and that's a whole lot better than six months ago," John Caldwell, chief equity strategist for McDonald Financial Group, told The Associated Press. "The strength in the economy is looking real and sustainable at least through next year."

The Dow Jones industrials rose 102.59 points, or 1%, to finish at 9,965.27, after gaining 0.8% in the previous week. It was the Dow's highest close since May 28, 2002, when the blue-chip average stood at 9,981.58. The last time the Dow traded above 10,000 was May 31, 2002. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock rose 24 cents to $35.24, as more than 87 million shares changed hands.

The broader markets also finished higher. The Nasdaq composite index rose 11.03 points, or 0.6%, to 1,948.85, following a weekly decline of 1.1%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.80 points, or 0.7%, to 1,069.30, having risen 0.3% last week. The InformationWeek 100 rose 0.47, or 0.2%, to 303.29.

Analysts say many investors are betting that the Federal Reserve will indicate that it plans to leave rates unchanged for some time when it meets Tuesday. In the last several meetings, the Fed has said it wouldn't likely raise rates for a "considerable period."