Investing.com - Asian stock markets rose sharply on Friday, as Thursday's comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, as well as expectations for further easing measures by global central banks, continued to support market sentiment.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.21%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index jumped 1.50%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.47%.
On Thursday, ECB President Draghi pledged to do everything in his mandate to save the euro.
In a speech in London, Draghi also appeared to indicate that the ECB would be prepared to intervene to lower Spanish and Italian bond yields, saying that government borrowing costs would fall within the central bank’s mandate if they interfered with the 'transmission' of monetary policy.
U.S. equities ended Thursday's session higher, as Mario Draghi's remarks overshadowed a number of disappointing earnings reports, which underlined the impact of the euro zone's financial crisis on the U.S. economy.
Speculation the Federal Reserve will introduce fresh stimulus measures to boost U.S. economic growth further supported the market, after the release of mixed U.S. data.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei rose sharply after Mario Draghi's comments bolstered hopes of more steps to counter the debt crisis.
Nissan, which reported a drop in quarterly operating profit on Thursday, soared 2.83%. Automakers were also supported by easing worries over the yen's strength after Draghi's comments put a brake on risk averse moves. Honda rallied 3.30%, while Toyota advanced 2.20%.
Meanwhile, digital camera maker Canon gained 1.54%, after tumbling over 7% on Thursday as its quarterly earnings showed damage from the euro zone debt crisis. The euro's fall to an 11-1/2 year low against the yen earlier this week was said to be hurting exporters with high exposure to Europe, such as Canon.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia rallied after Billabong International said earlier Friday that the takeover offer from TPG Capital worth AUD694 million was too low, but it would still open its books to the private equity firm. The company's shares climbed 1.5% following the news.
On the downside, Caltex Australia dropped 0.77% after Standard & Poor's placed the company on credit watch negative. S&P noted the company will face significant funding requirements to close its Sydney oil refinery and convert it to a major import terminal.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was sharply higher.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a surge of 4.26% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures were pointing to a 4.07% jump, London’s FTSE 100 futures climbed 1.36%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a 2.75% rally.
Later in the day, Spain was to release official data on its unemployment rate.
The U.S. was to publish advanced data on economic growth followed by a report by the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.21%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index jumped 1.50%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.47%.
On Thursday, ECB President Draghi pledged to do everything in his mandate to save the euro.
In a speech in London, Draghi also appeared to indicate that the ECB would be prepared to intervene to lower Spanish and Italian bond yields, saying that government borrowing costs would fall within the central bank’s mandate if they interfered with the 'transmission' of monetary policy.
U.S. equities ended Thursday's session higher, as Mario Draghi's remarks overshadowed a number of disappointing earnings reports, which underlined the impact of the euro zone's financial crisis on the U.S. economy.
Speculation the Federal Reserve will introduce fresh stimulus measures to boost U.S. economic growth further supported the market, after the release of mixed U.S. data.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei rose sharply after Mario Draghi's comments bolstered hopes of more steps to counter the debt crisis.
Nissan, which reported a drop in quarterly operating profit on Thursday, soared 2.83%. Automakers were also supported by easing worries over the yen's strength after Draghi's comments put a brake on risk averse moves. Honda rallied 3.30%, while Toyota advanced 2.20%.
Meanwhile, digital camera maker Canon gained 1.54%, after tumbling over 7% on Thursday as its quarterly earnings showed damage from the euro zone debt crisis. The euro's fall to an 11-1/2 year low against the yen earlier this week was said to be hurting exporters with high exposure to Europe, such as Canon.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia rallied after Billabong International said earlier Friday that the takeover offer from TPG Capital worth AUD694 million was too low, but it would still open its books to the private equity firm. The company's shares climbed 1.5% following the news.
On the downside, Caltex Australia dropped 0.77% after Standard & Poor's placed the company on credit watch negative. S&P noted the company will face significant funding requirements to close its Sydney oil refinery and convert it to a major import terminal.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was sharply higher.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a surge of 4.26% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures were pointing to a 4.07% jump, London’s FTSE 100 futures climbed 1.36%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a 2.75% rally.
Later in the day, Spain was to release official data on its unemployment rate.
The U.S. was to publish advanced data on economic growth followed by a report by the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.