Hopes of rate cut, strong earnings lift Wall St., Dow up 190 points.

Oct. 2--NEW YORK -- Strong expectations for another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and solid corporate earnings combined to send Wall Street soaring Monday, with the Dow ending at its record high after briefly surging 219 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip issues advanced 191.92 points, or 1.38 percent, from Friday to close at 14,087.55, marking its sixth biggest single-day gain for the year and exceeding its previous intraday high of 14,021.95 reached July 17 and closing high of 14,000.41 set July 19.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 39.49 points, or 1.46 percent, to 2,740.99, finishing at its highest level in six years and eight months.

The Dow surged past 14,000 in July and then tumbled, weighed down by an expanding credit crunch stemming largely from subprime mortgage problems. It briefly slipped below 13,000 in mid-August.

Backed by a 0.5 percentage point cut in the key short-term interest rate by the Federal Reserve on Sept. 18, however, the index followed an upward trend.

The record-breaking surge gave investors a sigh of relief Monday, with an official with a Japanese bank saying the worst of the ...