Asia stocks surge on ECB plan; Nikkei rallies 2.31%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets rose sharply during late Asian trade on Friday, as investor confidence strongly improved after the European Central Bank outlined on Thursday its bond-buying program designed to help stem the debt crisis in the euro zone.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.65%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index rose 0.30%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 2.31%.

On Thursday, ECB President Mario Draghi unveiled a new bond purchasing program, dubbed Outright Monetary Transactions, which he said will provide "a fully effective backstop" against market volatility.

Under the terms of the plan, the ECB would buy unlimited amounts of government bonds of up to three years in maturity, as long as the country in question is signed up to the OMT program and agrees to economic reforms.

Meanwhile, investors were eyeing the release of a key U.S. employment report later in the day, after upbeat data painted a rather bright picture of the sector on Thursday, dampening expectations for fresh easing measures by the Federal Reserve in the near future.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei soared amid hopes the ECB' bond-buying plan will help ease the effects of the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis on Japan's export-oriented economy.

NAND chipmaker Toshiba saw shares surge 6.84% after OCZ Technology Group said it faced a significant shortage in certain NAND flash components used in making some of its products.

Separately, Apple has reportedely reduced its order for memory chips for its new iPhone from Samsung Electronics, picking Toshiba and other competitors as its suppliers instead.

Also on the upside, camera and printer maker, Canon rallied 4.08% after the Nikkei business daily said the company is aiming to increase its China sales fourfold to around USD10 billion by 2017.

Meanwhile, shares in Hong Kong also posted strong gains, after the China Securities Journal reported earlier that regulators approved 30 infrastructure projects, adding to signs that Beijing is accelerating spending to bolster growth.

Insurers were among the session's top gainers, as shares in China Life Insurance climbed 4.16% and Ping An advanced 4.14%.

Energy stocks were also broadly higher, led by China Shenhua, up 6.77%, while PetroChina jumped 1.75%.

Elsewhere, Australian shares were boosted by the ECB plan, although gains were limited by official data showing that Australia's trade deficit widened more-than-expected to AUD0.56 billion in July from a deficit of AUD0.23 billion the previous month.

Mining stocks led gains, as shares in Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton rallied 4.47% and 2.27% respectively, while gold miner Newcrest Mining saw shares jump 1.29% after BlackRock said it increased its holdings in the company by acquiring 17,723 common shares at a price of USD25.27 per share.

On the downside, Consolidated Media Holdings dropped 0.58%, after it agreed to back a revised takeover offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp of AUD2 billion, giving News Corp a greater share of the nation's pay-TV market.

Looking ahead, European stock futures pointed to a higher open.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a 0.51% increase, France’s CAC 40 futures climbed 0.52%, London’s FTSE 100 futures added 0.32%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a 0.40% gain.

Later in the day, Germany was to publish official data on industrial production, while the U.S. was to release a report on non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate.