US stocks surged yesterday, lifting the Dow Jones industrial average to another record high, as a drop in interest rates eased investor fears about earnings reports. On Wall Street, the Dow rose 112.39 points - or by 1.1 per cent - to end the day on 10,197.70, past the closing high of 10,085.31 it set on Wednesday. This was the Dow's third record close this week.

Broader stock indicators also closed higher. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 28.96 at 2,573.39, despite a lacklustre performance from stalwarts Dell and Intel. The gain in the Nasdaq composite carried the index to a new high close.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by an eight-to-seven margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,702 up, 1,261 down and 595 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled 838.93 million shares.