Midday Report: Apple Music Takes Bite Out of Pandora; Stocks Rally

Stocks jumped in midday trading Friday after China joined the eurozone in adopting looser monetary policy. The People's Bank of China cut rates for the sixth time in less than a year in its latest move to reinvigorate flagging growth. Closer to home, positive earnings from Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) boosted tech stocks. Pandora (P) tanked after revenue growth significantly weakened because of the launch of Apple (AAPL) Music, a rival streaming service launched in June. The streaming company reported a quarterly net loss of 40 cents a share compared to a loss of just a penny last year. VFC Corp. (VFC), owner of brands Wrangler and North Face, slumped after softer sales in its third quarter.