US markets rallied on Friday to end their best closing levels in at least two months. All the major averages closed firmly positive, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. Sentiments remained up-beat after China’s central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates. The People's Bank of China has lowered both the one-year lending rate and the deposit rate by a quarter-point, marking the sixth rate cut since last November. The central bank noted a need to continue the flexible use of monetary policy tools to create an environment for stable and healthy economic development.
Some support also came from strong gains by three tech giants that reported their quarterly results after the close of trading on Thursday. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) remained on buyers’ radar after the software giant reported better-than-expected fiscal first quarter results. The results received a boost from the company’s cloud business. Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) and online retailer Amazon (AMZN) also posted notable gains after reporting quarterly earnings that exceeded estimates. Moreover, shares of Procter & Gamble (PG) also moved to the upside after the consumer products giant reported better than expected first quarter earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 157.54 points or 0.90 percent to 17,646.70, Nasdaq was up 111.81 points or 2.27 percent 5,031.86, while the S&P 500 gained 22.64 points or 1.10 percent to 2,075.15.
Indian ADRs ended in green, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 1.17%, Tata Motors was up 0.60%, Infosys was up 0.46%, HDFC Bank was up by 0.24% and Wipro was up by 0.10%.