A surprise rate cut by China’s central bank for the first time since 2012 boosted the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to new highs yet again, and the market held on to almost half of its gains by the closing bell. The European Central Bank also announced plans to expand its own stimulus program, cementing the gains.

Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST), Autodesk, Inc., (ADSK) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) were among the leading stocks today, as basic materials and energy stocks led the market and some retail stocks also showed strength. Here’s why those three stocks were getting a boost today:

Ross Stores (ROST)

Ross Stores, a retail outlet with discounted clothing prices, shot up more than 7% by posting better-than-expected results for the third quarter. Earnings of 93 cents per share handily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 87 cents, and EPS was 16% higher year-over-year. Revenue of $618 million was up 11% during the same period, trouncing Zack’s estimate of $603 million. Adding to the bullish celebration was an upgrade by Maxim Group from “sell” to “hold” — a year ago, the same firm downgraded ROST stock from “hold” to “sell.”

ROST stock has been on a tear since July, up almost 43%.

Caterpillar (CAT)

Caterpillar benefited from Stifel initiating coverage on CAT stock with a “buy” rating. Stifel gave CAT stock a target price of $122, some 15% above today’s closing price of $106.69.

All in all, CAT stock gapped up well more than 4% on the day, and is up about 18% during the past month.

Autodesk (ADSK)

Autodesk, the maker of computer-aided software, posted third-quarter EPS and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates, and also gapped up to touch a record high before pulling back slightly in the afternoon. ADSK stock finished almost 6% higher on the day. Q3 profit actually fell 39% to 25 cents per share, but was ahead of estimates by 3 cents. Revenue rose 11% from a year ago to $618 million.

Autodesk recently shifted to a cloud-based subscription model, and subscription revenue was also up by 15% during the quarter. The only negative was the guidance for the current quarter, which came in between 22 and 25 cents — well below the 30 cents that analysts expected. But the Street was in a forgiving mood on an otherwise positive day for ADSK stock, as well as the overall markets.

As of this writing, Ethan Roberts did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.