In the 19th century, Britain was "the empire on which the sun never sets." In the present day, that moniker more aptly describes the reign of stimulative central bank policies. And that has stock market bulls shouting "Tally-ho!"

In the same week that the Federal Reserve ended its asset purchasing program, the Bank of Japan delighted markets with the announcement that it will increase purchases of Japanese government bonds and other assets. The central bank signaled its intention to continue its strenuous effort to improve Japan's economy and quash deflation expectations.

Read MoreMarkets are still addicted to money printing

The question now is whether the European Central Bank will look to follow suit, as the ECB is set to announce a rate decision on Thursday, and follow that up with a press conference. Whether it comes now or in the near future, further ECB action is widely anticipated by many market participants, as the bank likely feels the need to combat a stagnant European economy that is also battling off deflation.

The great hope is that ECB president Mario Draghi will announce, or at least foreshadow, U.S. or Japan-style bond purchases.

"It's difficult to say exactly what the market's expecting, but clearly if the language remains unchanged, that will be a disappointment," commented Deutsche Bank FX strategist Oliver Harvey. "European risk assets are certainly looking for more direction from the ECB."

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Interestingly, on top of serious concerns about Eurozone growth, the BOJ's move could increase the odds for ECB stimulus. The euro has jumped against the , and if the ECB fails to act, the euro could grow even stronger—which is bad news for European exporters. That perception explains why the euro fell against the in Friday trading, according to Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.

Still, Lien doesn't expect to see stimulative action—just more dovish words. "The ECB probably takes more steps to talk down its currency," she predicted.

In addition to the ECB, the Bank of England is also releasing a rate decision on Thursday, though that central bank is expected to leave policy unchanged. And as far as Japan goes, more color on future BOJ action could come on Wednesday, when Bank of Japan head Haruhiko Kuroda speaks.

Whatever next week brings, it is clear that risk assets are cheering the prospects of more easy money even without the Fed. The S&P 500 Index rose a full percentage point on Friday, closing at an all-time high. In India, the Sensex rose nearly 2 percent. And in Japan, the rose a stunning 5 percent as the Japanese yen tanked.

Read MoreBOJ surprises with fresh stimulus, Nikkei surges 5%

"QE is being passed and carried from one central bank to the next, which means that the safety net for equities is still in place," said Jeff Kilburg of KKM Financial. "That's going to continue the love in all stock markets around the world."

Of course, this is more than a mere question about financial assets. Even beyond Europe and Japan, the world appears to be mired in sluggish growth, to put in generously.

China appears to be losing momentum, with a reported plunge in bank deposits being the most recent bad sign. Meanwhile, the Russian ruble continues to slide due to capital outflows, even as its central bank raised rates by 1.5 percentage points to a stunning 9.5 percent in an attempt to make the currency more attractive.

And in Brazil, both its currency and equity markets have fallen sharply on the reelection of President Dilma Rousseff, who is perceived to be unfriendly to business. There, too, the central bank has pursued a rate hike.

Brazil shocks with interest rate hike in wake of election

"The U.S. is doing okay, but central bank policy is extremely important where growth and inflation have been trailing off, notably the EU, Japan, and China," Deutsche's Harvey said.

"You have an environment in which in all three major economies apart from the U.S., growth has been quite soft. So it couldn't be more important that monetary policy responds to that," he added.

And as Friday's rally shows, U.S. investors could be the happy beneficiaries of the actions that will attend to that unhappy set of circumstances.

—By CNBC's Alex Rosenberg.

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