Asia mixed on hopes for ECB bond-buying; Nikkei down 0.04%

Investing.com - Asian stocks traded mixed to higher on Thursday as market talk grew louder the European Central Bank is finalizing a blueprint to buy sovereign debt to lower borrowing costs in countries such as Italy or Spain.

During Asian trading on Thursday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.17%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was up 0.99%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.04%.

The Bloomberg news agency reported earlier that the ECB was planning to launch "unlimited, sterilized" bond purchases, meaning the monetary authority would buy Spanish, Italian or other debt with money already circulating elsewhere in the financial system and not likely printed anew in a fashion carried out by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The plan, known as the Monetary Outright Transaction proposal, will involve purchases of government bonds carrying maturities of up to three years.

The news sent stocks gaining, as investors viewed the move as a big step towards controlling the European debt crisis.

However, uncertainty kept some investors at bay and allowed for choppy trading before an official announcement calling for ECB intervention hits the wire.

Investors also kept a cautious eye on the U.S.

The U.S. will release its August jobs report on Friday and talk is building the numbers may be soft enough to prompt the Fed to announce a third round of quantitative easing to jolt the economy.

Under quantitative easing, the Fed buys assets such as Treasury holdings or mortgage-backed securities from banks, pumping the financial system full of liquidity to push down interest rates and encourage investing and hiring.

Such accommodative policies tend to weaken the dollar and as a side effect, stocks rise, though many investors opted to wait on the sidelines until the ECB and the Federal Reserve make their policy plans known.

The Federal Reserve will hold its monetary policy meeting next week.

In Hong Kong, top decliners included BOC Hong Kong, down 4.09%, Bank of East Asia, down 2.08%, and China Petroleum & Chemical, down 1.72%.

In Australia, top gainers included Lynas Corp., up 41.18% on news it received an operating license to develop a rare earths plant in Malaysia, Boart Longyear, up 18.02%, and Karoon Gas Australia, up 10.75%.

European stock futures indicated a higher opening.

France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.19%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures pointed to a gain of 0.35%. Meanwhile in the U.K., FTSE 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.22%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.21% while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.28%.

Later Thursday, the ECB will announce its benchmark interest rate and will also hold a press conference with bank chief Mario Draghi, which will be closely watched for details of the bank’s bond purchasing program.