Stocks raced higher in New York yesterday after the US government's employment report calmed fears about rising inflation and prompted a broad rally that included the biggest point gain in the history of the Nasdaq composite index.

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 235.24 at 11,078.45, a rise of 2.2 per cent.

The Nasdaq rose 108.34 to 2,842.58, surpassing the previous high for a one-day point gain - 103.16, set on June 16th. The Standard and Poor's 500 also rose, by 38.13 to 1,357.24.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 13-to-4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,295 up, 707 down and 501 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled 654.53 million shares, compared with 684.35 million in the previous session. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.55 to 435.97.