Stocks shrug off mixed unemployment report

NEW YORK — Stocks are finishing with modest gains after the government reported a sharp drop in the unemployment rate. Information technology companies led stocks higher.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in January, the lowest rate since April 2009. But in a separate survey, the government said 36,000 new jobs were created last month, the fewest in four months.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 12,092. The S&P 500 index rose 3 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,310. The Nasdaq gained 15 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,769.

Falling shares outnumbered rising ones by a small margin on the New York Stock Exchange. Preliminary trading volume was 912 million shares.