Investing.com - Shares in Tokyo soared on Friday as a weaker yen boosted sentiment while other Asian markets were mixed.
THe Nikkei 225 soared 4.72%, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.28% and the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.02%.
In Japan, the provisional manufacturing index for January came in at 52.4, below the level of 52.8 seen. The yen weakened to 117.99, up 0.24% against the dollar.
Overnight, U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday from a considerable sell-off in the previous session, as dovish comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi on the potential for increased stimulus measures and a rare spike in crude prices provided a lift to the major indices.
One day after falling by more than 550 points at session lows, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded on Thursday closing at 15,882,68, up 115.94 or 0.74% on the day. The NASDAQ Composite index inched up 0.37 or 0.01% to 4,472.06, amid strong performances from semiconductor and media stocks. At session highs, the Dow and NASDAQ gained as much 271 and 65 points respectively.
The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, added 9.66 or 0.52%, as seven of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Energy and Telecommunications industries led, each gaining more than 2% on the session. Stocks in the Financials, Health Care and Utilities sectors lagged.