U.S., global stocks get big boost from Bank of Japan

NEW YORK -- Stocks rose across the globe Friday, capping off what has been a seesaw month for investors, after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced a new stimulus package to boost the country's struggling economy. Japan's stock market jumped 4.8 percent to reach its highest level since 2007.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 184 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,380 as of 10:27 a.m. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 21 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,016 and the Nasdaq composite rose 63 points, or 1.4 percent, to 4,629.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 are back at record highs and the Nasdaq composite is at its highest level in 14 years.

The Bank of Japan surprised investors by announcing it would increase its bond and asset purchases from $90.7 billion to $181.3 billion to about $725 billion annually. The announcement came after economic data showed that Japan's economy remained in the doldrums following a sales tax increase in April. Japan's inflation slipped and household spending fell in September and the country's unemployment ticked up.

The move came only two days after the U.S. Federal Reserve brought an end to its own bond-buying program. Investors have been hopeful the European Central Bank also mightstart buying bonds to stimulate that region's economy by keeping interest rates low and injecting cash into the financial system.

That form of stimulus is called quantitative easing, also known among investors as "QE."

"The Japanese central bank has taken the QE baton from the Fed, and equity traders couldn't be happier," said David Madden, market analyst at IG.

The yen weakened sharply following the Bank of Japan's announcement. The yen slumped 2.7 percent against the dollar to 112 yen. The Japanese currency is trading at the lowest level in more than five years. Japanese companies typically like a weak Japanese yen because it makes their goods cheaper abroad. In an export-heavy economy like Japan, that is very important.

European stock markets rose broadly following the Bank of Japan's announcement on hopes that the European Central Bank could be tempted to follow Japan's lead in stepping up stimulus measures. However, few think anything will be announced at the ECB's next policy meeting next Thursday.

"The willingness of the Bank of Japan to ease further in the fight against deflation will encourage those who think the ECB should be doing the same," said Julian Jessop, chief global economist at Capital Economics.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.2 percent. France's CAC 40 jumped 2.4 percent and Germany's DAX climbed 2.3 percent.

After a volatile month, U.S. stocks are on pace to end October broadly higher. The Dow is up 2.1 percent for the month, while the S&P 500 is up 2.3 percent and the Nasdaq is up 3.1 percent. All three indexes had been down as much as 3 to 5 percent for the month only two weeks ago.

GoPro jumped $9.16, or 13 percent, to $77.30. The maker of small, wearable video cameras posted profit and revenue that was well ahead of analysts' projections. The company also raised its profit forecast for the fourth quarter.

The price of U.S. benchmark crude oil fell 88 cents to $80.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $1.08 to settle at $81.12 on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price oil in international markets, dipped 88 cents to $86.24 in London. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 2.33 percent.