1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks jump after ECB rate cut decision

U.S. stocks posted solid gains Friday, as investors continued to assess the impacts of the European Central Bank (ECB) decision to cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of zero percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 218.12 points, or 1.28 percent, to 17,213.31. The S&P 500 leapt 32.62 points, or 1.64 percent, to 2,022.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 86.31 points, or 1.85 percent, to 4,748.47.

The ECB cut interest rates on Thursday to boost the euro-zone economy, surprising financial markets by dropping its main refinancing rate to zero from 0.05 percent.

It also expanded its quantitative easing asset-buying program to 80 billion euros (89.08 billion U.S. dollars) a month from 60 billion euros (66.81 billion dollars) and cut its deposit rate to -0.4 percent from -0.3 percent, charging banks more to keep their money with the ECB.

ECB President Mario Draghi said the Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time.

European equities rebounded strongly Friday after the ECB move. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange surged 3.51 percent, while French benchmark index CAC 40 soared 3.27 percent.

In Asia, Chinese shares rose on Friday after two days of losses as securities, high-speed rail and gold-related sectors performed well. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent to close at 2,810.31 points.

On the economic front, U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes came out better than expected. In February, U.S. import prices fell by 0.3 percent, while export prices decreased 0.4 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

In a weekly basis, all three major indices posted gains for a fourth straight week, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq moving up 1.2 percent, 1.1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Enditem