US stocks join global rally, jump 2.5%

New York - US stocks jumped 2.5% on Friday, joining a global rally after surprise stimulus by the Bank of Japan raised confidence of further central bank moves to boost growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 396.66 points at 16 466.30.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 46.88 points to 1940.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 107.28 points to 4 613.95.

The Bank of Japan adopted a below-zero interest rate policy, essentially charging lenders to park their cash with it. The move helped spur stocks higher in Europe and Asia.

Stocks picked up further momentum following government data showing the US economy grew an anemic 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Analysts said the weak growth reduced the chances the Federal Reserve will move quickly to hike interest again.

"This basically sets the tone that central banks are going to have to boost the economy," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial.

Stocks were also bolstered by oil prices, which rose for the fourth day in a row. The gain lifted petroleum-linked stocks, including Marathon Oil and Halliburton, which jumped 6.1% and 4.4%, respectively.

Chevron rose a more modest 0.6% after reporting a surprise loss for the fourth quarter due to the slump in oil prices. Chevron lost $588m compared with net income of $3.5bn in the year-ago period.

Amazon sank 7.6% after it reported fourth-quarter profits of $482m, up from $214m a year ago behind a 22% rise in revenue. Some analysts expressed worry about an outlook that included a projection for first-quarter operating income of $100m to $700m.

But some other large technology shares rose. Apple and Intel both surged 3.5% and Cisco Systems advanced 3.0%.

Microsoft jumped 5.8% after reporting fourth-quarter net income of $5.8bn in better-than-expected results that showed growth in its cloud-computing business.

Banking shares enjoyed a good session, with Citigroup gaining 5.4%, JPMorgan Chase 3.9% and Bank of America 4.5%.

Visa powered 7.4% higher on better-than-expected earnings, while Mastercard gained 6.7% after also beating analyst estimates.