Speaking in Frankfurt, President Mario Draghi announced an extended asset purchase program to buy asset-backed securities worth 60 billion euros ($69 billion) per month starting in March through to September 2016. The measures were as expected but the total amount of stimulus and timing exceeded economists’ forecasts. It was previously expected the ECB’s stimulus plan would entail bond purchases worth 50 billion euros ($58.2 billion) a month for at least a year.

The asset purchase program “was what the market expected but not to the extent that the ECB announced in their first go-around,” said Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh Asset Management. “What I believe the market is now interpreting is that the situation in Europe is even worse than they anticipated and perhaps the recovery is going to take even longer.”

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