The stock market had a tough session on Friday, as investors worried about the looming possibility of a U.S. government default on its sovereign debt. As of 2 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) was leading other major benchmarks lower, falling about 0.6%.

Yet a couple of Nasdaq stocks managed to post solid gains on Friday. First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) and News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) gave their investors some positive things to think about, and that helped lift their shares dramatically. Below, you'll learn more about what sent First Solar and News Corp into the spotlight heading into the weekend.

Shares of First Solar soared 23% in early afternoon trading on Friday. The move higher added between $4 billion and $5 billion to the solar specialist's market cap, which makes it all the more noteworthy that such a tiny piece of news prompted such a large boost.

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Source Fool.com