US stocks at new records after China rate cut

US stocks followed global equity markets higher Friday, powering to new intra-session records in early trade after China's surprise interest-rate cut.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,866.00, up 147.00 points (0.83 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 16.90 (0.82 percent) to 2,069.65, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 33.55 (0.71 percent) to 4,735.42.
The People's Bank of China unexpectedly cut benchmark interest rates for the first time in more than two years to boost sagging economic growth.
Also Friday, Mario Draghi signalled that the European Central Bank is ready to expand stimulus efforts, saying the ECB would "use all means available to us" to return the eurozone to its inflation objective. The ECB would act "without any undue delay," he said.
Equity markets in Britain, France and Germany all marched higher.
Dow member Caterpillar, a big supplier to the Chinese construction machinery industry, gained 4.5 percent.
Metals producers Freeport-McMoRan (+3.9 percent) and Southern Copper (+5.2 percent) jumped on rising copper prices in anticipation of stronger Chinese demand.
Dow Chemical advanced 2.3 percent after it reached a compromise with activist shareholder Daniel Loeb in which the chemical giant agreed to add four new independent board members in exchange for Loeb's support of the nominees.
Sotheby's bolted 7.7 percent higher after it announced that  chief executive William Ruprecht stepped down. The move follows pressure by Loeb, who joined the Sotheby's board earlier this year.
Hertz Global Holdings gained 4.5 percent as it named former United Airlines chief operating officer John Tague as its new chief executive. The appointment comes after another prominent activist, Carl Icahn, won three Hertz board seats in September.
Gap fell 5.2 percent as comparable sales in the third quarter fell two percent compared with last year.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.33 percent from 2.34 percent Thursday, while the 30-year dipped to 3.04 percent from 3.05 percent. Bond yields and prices move inversely.