U.S. STOCKS, BONDS

U.S. stock markets turned a weak jobs report into positive news Friday, ending higher on expectations that the data will lead to new Federal Reserve efforts to help the economy.

The markets added to Thursday's strong gains, with big mining companies surging on a jump in gold prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 14.64 points (0.11 percent) at 13,306.64. The S&P 500 gained 5.80 (0.40 percent) at 1,437.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq edged up 0.61 point (0.02 percent) to 3,136.42.

The Labor Department's report that a meager 96,000 jobs were added last month, and that 368,000 people dropped out of the jobs market, convinced many that the Fed would have to act to boost growth in its policy meeting next week.

On the Dow, blue chips Alcoa and Caterpillar both jumped 3.9 percent, while Kraft disappointed investors, falling 5.5 percent as it unveiled a new marketing strategy ahead of splitting its US grocery arm from its international snacks business.

Mining stocks led the way as gold prices surged on the prospect of falling interest rates on both sides of the Atlantic and commodities giant Glencore jacked up its bid for mining group Xstrata.

Freeport McMoran leaped 8.5 percent and Southern Copper 5.3 percent. US-traded shares of Xstrata surged 5.3 percent, and those of Vale jumped 6.75 percent. Financials continued their Thursday gains helped by the prospect of lower interest rates.

Bank of America rose 5.4 percent, Citigroup 3.1 percent, Goldman Sachs 2.5 percent and JPMorgan Chase 1.6 percent. On the Nasdaq, Intel shares lost 3.6 percent after it cut its sales outlook for the third quarter and said it would revise its full-year forecast, citing weaker-than-expected demand.

Following suit, chip maker AMD lost 5.7 percent and Micron Technology lost 3.8 percent. Pandora Media plunged 16.7 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is in talks to license music for broadcast on a custom online radio.

A Federal Reserve meeting should dominate financial coverage this week, as market observers wait to see whether the Fed will step in with new interventions to jumpstart the slow U.S. recovery. Also, a raft of consumer and trade data are expected this week, but on the equities side, there are only a few notable companies posting their latest earnings.

EUROPEAN STOCKS, BONDS

Euro Stoxx 50 ended 0.5% higher at 2538.60 Friday to finish the week 4% ahead. Unsurprisingly, the ECB's bond-buying proposal announced Thursday continues to support banks.

Societe Generale endsed up 6.9%, Deutsche Bank up 5.4%. Also, Nokia finished up 6.4% on reports that the company's new smartphones will be on sale in France by November. This week's agenda is very busy. Investors will keenly watch for the German constitutional court ruling on the ESM, due Wednesday.

The FOMC's policy meeting ends Thursday; after the latest disappointing print on U.S. nonfarm payrolls, many investors are now expecting QE3.

ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS

Asian markets surged Friday after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi unveiled a plan to buy the bonds of troubled eurozone nations in a bid to tackle the region's long-running debt crisis.

The bullish sentiment fuelled by Draghi's announcement was increased by US data showing many more jobs than expected were created in the private sector last month, lifting hopes for the world's number one economy.

Tokyo surged 2.20 percent, or 191.08 points, to 8,871.65, Seoul climbed 2.57 percent, or 48.34 points, to 1,929.58 and Sydney rose 0.30 percent, or 12.9 points, to 4,325.8. In the afternoon Hong Kong jumped 2.50 percent and Shanghai soared 3.92 percent.

Draghi said Thursday the ECB would buy unlimited amounts of debt from troubled nations such as Spain and Italy in order to lower their cost of borrowing and help them get back on their feet a scheme named Outright Monetary Transactions.

The OMTs "will enable us to address severe distortions in government bond markets which originate from, in particular, unfounded fears on the part of investors of the reversibility of the euro", Draghi said.

However, he said the purchases would depend on those countries asking for bailout cash and agreeing to undertake economic reforms.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Friday after strong gains throughout the afternoon and a busy news week that overall boosted both macro-economic sentiment and metals prices.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 3.5% higher on Thursday's close at $7,970 a metric ton, slightly down from the session high of $8,000/ton. The red metal continues to post highs not seen since May, although with some way to go before surpassing the April/May peak of $8,496.75/ton. The remainder of the complex also closed considerably higher on the day.

U.S. crude futures rose Friday after bouncing between gains and losses as a weak report on the U.S. job market raised the possibility of additional central-bank stimulus.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled 89 cents, or 0.9%, higher at $96.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $96.74 earlier in the session.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 90 cents higher at $114.39 a barrel. Gold climbed more than 2% Friday as a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report bolstered investor hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon prop up the economy with a third round of stimulus.

The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, rose $34.90, or 2.1%, to settle at $1,740.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was the highest settlement price since Feb. 28, when gold settled at $1,788.40 a troy ounce. Compiled from MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD.