US stocks soar: Microsoft leads a surge in technology

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks soared on the last trading day of January, led by big gains in technology companies after Microsoft turned in a strong quarter.
Visa and MasterCard also joined the rally in technology Friday, and several other companies also surged on strong earnings. Consol Energy jumped along with the price of natural gas.
The gains, as big as they were, weren’t enough to make up for a dismal start to the year. U.S. indexes are still down sharply for January following the wor