Reuters Dow ends above 8,000 in best 4-week run since 1933

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow marking its best four-week winning streak since 1933, lifted by robust results from Research in Motion and comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said the central bank will do everything it can to stabilize banks.

Growing conviction that the worst is over for the economy helped Wall Street shrug off dour jobs data showing the highest unemployment rate since 1983.

The Nasdaq outperformed other indexes, helped by a 21 percent jump in the U.S.-listed stock of Research in Motion (RIM.TO)(RIMM.O) after the BlackBerry maker, a Canadian company, posted surprisingly strong results on brisk retail demand and gave a rosy outlook after Thursday's closing bell.

"The move into technology reflects investors rotating funds into groups likely to benefit from an economic recovery, even though a turnaround in corporate profits in that sector might still be a few quarters away," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport, Connecticut.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI climbed 39.51 points, or 0.50 percent, to 8,017.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 8.12 points, or 0.97 percent, to 842.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 19.24 points, or 1.20 percent, to 1,621.87.

For the week, the Dow rose 3.1 percent, while the S&P 500 advanced 3.3 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 5 percent. more...