SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Micron Technology Inc. said late Friday that President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Durcan will assume the responsibilies of chief executive officer until the board appoints a successor. Earlier Friday, Chairman and CEO Steve Appleton, 51, was killed after the small plane he was piloting crashed in Boise, Idaho. Micron said the board will convene a meeting over the weekend. Shares of Micron, which had been halted during the regular trading session, fell 5.7% to $7.50 in after-hours activity.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. equity markets finished the day with across-the-board gains Friday on their highest volume session in more than a month. Composite volume of shares listed on the NYSE was 4.56 billion shares traded, compared with the average year-to-date daily volume of 3.96 billion shares. Nasdaq composite volume was 2.14 billion shares traded, compared with the year-to-date daily average of 1.83 billion shares. Friday's composite volumes for the NYSE- and Nasdaq-listed shares were both the highest since Dec. 16, 2011. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%, the S&P 500 Index advanced 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.6%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Aeropostale Inc. said late Friday that its board appointed Karin Hirtler-Garvey to succeed Chairman Julian Geiger, who is resigning the post and his seat on the board. Hirtler-Garvey, who has served on Aeropostale's board since 2005, is the chief risk executive for Ally Financial Inc., formerly known as GMAC.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks jumped Friday after a surprisingly strong jobs report enlivened hopes that the economic recovery was picking up speed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 156.82 points, or 1.2%, to 12,862.23, its highest close since May 2008. The S&P 500 gained 19.36 points, or 1.5%, to 1,344.90. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 45.98 points, or 1.6%, to 2,905.66, its highest close since Dec. 2000. For the week, the Dow gained 1.6%. The S&P 500 rose 2.2% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.2%, the fifth straight week of gains for both indexes.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures closed higher Friday, marking an end to a five-session decline, with a gain in U.S. jobs last month lifting prospects for demand, but prices still ended the week 1.7% lower. March crude rose $1.48, or 1.5%, to settle at $97.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had lost 3.3% over the past five sessions. "Traders were over-reactive this morning to signals of what should ultimately lead to healthier demand," said Seth Rabinowitz, who covers commodities as a partner at Silicon Associates. And "zig-zagging crude prices are an indication traders on the whole are really uncertain about the overall direction of oil, torn among forecasts of higher U.S. demand butting heads with [a] strengthening and then weakening U.S. dollar."

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.