US: Stocks surge on China rate cut, tech earnings

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened solidly higher Friday after China cut benchmark interest rates and Microsoft and other technology giants reported strong earnings.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,614.00, up 124.84 points (0.71 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 19.05 (0.93 per cent) to 2,071.56, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 90.78 (1.85 per cent) to 5,010.83.

The People's Bank of China announced it was reducing lending and deposit interest rates by 0.25 percentage point each and its reserve requirement ratio by 0.50 percentage point in a bid to boost economic growth.

Microsoft surged 10.4 per cent after reporting earnings for the quarter ending September 30 of US$4.6 billion, up two per cent and above expectations.

AFP