Asian Markets Rallied on Friday, after the ECB Announced a New Bond-Purchasing Plan

Equities
Asian markets rallied on Friday, after the ECB announced a new bond-purchasing plan on Thursday.  The Shanghai Composite surged 3.7% to 2317, its largest single-day gain since January, after the government announced new infrastructure plans costing $150 billion.  The Hang Seng spiked 3.1% to 19802, the Nikkei jumped 2.2% to 8872, and the Kospi advanced 2.6% to 1930.  Australia’s ASX 200 lagged behind, edging up a mere .3% as financial shares struggled.
European indexes tacked on additional gains, despite weak US jobs data.  The DAX climbed .7% to 7215, while the FTSE and CAC40 rose .3%.  Greece released GDP data for the second quarter of 2012, showing the economy shrank by 6.3%.
US markets traded in narrow ranges before ending marginally higher.  The Dow ticked up 15 points to 13307, the Nasdaq rose fractionally, and the S&P 500 gained .4% to 1438.  Weak jobs data was offset by expectations that the weakness would encourage the Fed to introduce more easing.
Chip-makers struggled after Intel cut its revenue forecast due to economic weakness.  Intel fell 3.6%, AMD tumbled 5.7%, and Micron shed 3.8%.
Treasuries and Commodities
10-year notes edged up 3/32 to yield 1.67%, while 30-year notes sank 16/32 to yield 2.82%.
Metals surged, lifted by China’s new infrastructure investment.  Copper jumped 3.7% to 3.645, silver advanced 3.1% to 33.69, and gold gained 2% to 1738.
Gasoline advanced 1% to 3.0196, crude oil gained .9%, while natural gas skidded 3.4% to 2.682.
Currencies
The Euro surged 1.5% to 1.2818 after the weak US jobs report, as the Dollar struggled.  The Australian Dollar spiked 1% to .9786, the Pound gained .6% to 1.6026, and the Yen climbed .8% to 78.23.
Economic Outlook
The economy added 96K jobs last month, significantly lower than the 123K forecast by analysts.  On a more positive note, the unemployment rate fell to 8.1% from 8.3%.
Monday’s sole report will be consumer credit.   No major earnings reports are due.