TOKYO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average jumped almost 2 percent and at one point hit a fresh five-month high on Thursday, encouraged by talk of bold steps to resolve the EU's debt crisis, strong U.S. economic data and a softer yen.
Speculation grew that the European Central Bank could step up its purchases of government debt and a U.S. official told Reuters that Washington would support the boosting an EU rescue facility via IMF funds, lifting U.S. stocks on Wednesday.
The Nikkei made its biggest daily gain in two weeks closing up 1.8 percent or 180.47 points at 10,168.52. At one stage it jumped 2 percent, hitting a fresh five-month intraday high of 10,187.59. The broader Topix index was 1.3 percent higher at 877.21. (Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Michael Watson)