NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with major indexes notching a fifth straight weekly advance after China's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate and its euro zone peer announced asset purchases in efforts to boost each region's economy.
The gains were broad on a day when both the Dow and S&P 500 ended at closing records. All ten primary S&P 500 industry sectors ended the day higher, while 63 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed in positive territory. About 50 percent of Nasdaq-listed names were higher on the day.The People's Bank of China said it was cutting one-year benchmark lending rates for the first time in more than two years. The move came after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi said "excessively low" inflation had to be raised quickly by whatever means necessary, rekindling expectations the ECB will move to stimulate the euro zone economy. The ECB said it started buying asset-backed securities to encourage banks to lend and revive the economy. "It isn't the size of the moves but the shock value of the direction that is really lifting markets today," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, which manages about $67 billion in assets. "This is a one-two punch for global growth."The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 88.94 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,807.94, the S&P 500 <.spx> gained 10.7 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,063.45 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> added 11.10 points, or 0.24 percent, to 4,712.97. Both the Dow and S&P ended at records. For the week, the Dow rose 1 percent, the S&P added 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.5 percent. It was the fifth straight weekly advance for all three.Gains in the Nasdaq were limited by declines in large-cap tech companies. Microsoft Corp