Street Looks Past Job Data, Logs 4th Week of Gains (ext: ABCNews)

The Dow Jones industrial average clawed higher to end above 8,000 for the first time in nearly two months, and logged an impressive fourth straight week of gains.

Wall Street's newfound confidence kept swelling this week on better-than-expected economic data, a relaxation in bank accounting rules, and reassurances from the world's finance leaders that they will keep propping up the global economy. The Labor Department's March unemployment report on Friday was the week's last big hurdle.

The job numbers were certainly grim, but not terrible enough to derail the emerging sense of optimism over the past four months that the economy may be beginning to right itself. The Dow finished the week up 3.1 percent.

Employers slashed a net total of 663,000 jobs last month, slightly worse than the 654,000 economists expected.

While many investors are looking ahead to an eventual recovery, others say Wall Street might be just as shortsighted now as it was when it was panicking. Potential pitfalls lie ahead not just for the job market, which has shed 5.1 million jobs since December 2007, but also in corporate earnings reports and outlooks that start pouring in next week.

The Dow on Friday climbed 39.51, or 0.5 percent, to 8,017.59.