(MENAFN- AFP) US stocks rose in early trade Friday after a weak US fourth-quarter economic growth report raised expectations the Federal Reserve would hold off on further interest rate increases.
About 45 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 211.93 points (1.32 percent) at 16,281.57.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 22.25 (1.18 percent) to 1,915.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 55.55 (1.23 percent) at 4,562.22.
Global markets were in rally mode after the Bank of Japan announced a surprise cut in interest rates into negative territory for the first time in a bid to spur its economy and battle deflation.
The BOJ's move "is really a tacit admission that the outlook stinks," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
In the US, fourth-quarter growth in gross domestic product came in at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent, much slower than the 2.0 percent in the third quarter and below the 0.9 percent expected by analysts.
The report came just two days after the Federal Reserve expressed greater concern about the global economy, but left in place the possibility that it could hike interest rates again in March.
However, some analysts believe the weak GDP report makes a March rate hike less likely.
"All components of private-sector growth are flashing warning signs," said economist Chris Low of FTN Financial. "Maybe the Fed should rethink this whole tightening thing."
Microsoft jumped 5.2 percent after reporting fourth-quarter net income of $5.8 billion in better-than-expected results that showed growth in its cloud-computing business.
Amazon sank 8.7 percent after it reported fourth-quarter profits of $482 million, up from $214 million a year ago behind a 22 percent rise in revenue. Some analysts expressed worry about an outlook that included a projection for first-quarter operating income of $100-700 million.
Xerox climbed 5.7 percent after announcing it would split into two publicly traded companies covering document technology and business services. The move follows pressure from activist Carl Icahn, who will be granted three seats on the board of the services company.
Chevron fell 0.6 percent after reporting a surprise loss for the fourth quarter due to the slump in oil prices. Chevron lost $588 million compared with net income of $3.5 billion in the year-ago period.
Other petroleum-linked stocks rose on higher oil prices. Apache advanced 4.6 percent, ConocoPhillips 2.5 percent and Halliburton 2.4 percent.
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