Asia stocks advance on E.Z. optimism; Nikkei up 0.44%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets ended the session higher on Friday, as market sentiment was boosted by encouraging comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday, while the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.58%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index jumped 0.94%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.44%.

Speaking at the ECB's post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said the central bank was ready to undertake Outright Monetary Transactions when the prerequisites are in place and reiterated that the ECB was acting strictly within its mandate in undertaking a bond buying program via OMTs.

The ECB left rates on hold at a record low 0.75% earlier, in a widely anticipated decision.

Meanwhile, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting showed that the central bank is moving toward linking its outlook for near-zero interest rates to specific economic conditions such as a decline in the unemployment rate.

The move would represent a shift from the Fed’s policy of tying low rates to the calendar.

Earlier in the day, the BoJ ended a two-day policy meeting by holding the benchmark interest rate close to zero, in a widely expected move.

The central bank held off from more easing after adding to stimulus last month, keeping its asset-purchase fund at JPY55 trillion, despite increased political pressure and signs of an economic contraction.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei was higher following the BoJ announcement, boosted by gains in commodity-linked stocks.

Nippon Steel jumped 1.28% and Japan Steel Works climbed 0.92%, while Toyota Motor tumbled 1.62% on the other hand, amid reports the automaker's sales in China dropped by about 40% in September from a year earlier to about 50,000 cars.

Elsewhere, optics and imaging giant Nikon plunged 4.81% after the Nikkei newspaper said its interim operating profit would drop 43% on the year to JPY35 billion, signaling a slowdown in sales.

Meanwhile, shares in Hong Kong advanced as oil-related stocks posted sharp gains.

PetroChina surged 2.10% and China Shenua rallied 1.34%, while Sinopec soared 8.08%, on the back of rising oil prices.

Meanwhile, Swire Properties added 0.26%, even as weak retail sales data pointed to lower spending by Chinese tourists.

Elsewhere, Australian shares were lifted by mining and banking stocks.

Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton advanced 1.76% and 1% respectively, while Newcrest Mining rallied 3.12% after the gold price soared to its highest price in 11 months.

In the financial sector, National Australia Bank gained 0.60%, while ANZ Banking and Westpac Banking climbed 0.79% and 1.21% respectively

Looking ahead, European stock futures pointed to a higher open, following Mario Draghi's comments on Thursday.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a 0.54% gain, France’s CAC 40 futures added l 0.10%, London’s FTSE 100 futures rose 0.37%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a 0.32% gain.

Later in the day, Germany was to release a report on factory orders, while the euro zone was to publish release final data on economic growth.

The U.S. was to produce official data on non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate, as well as a report on average hourly earnings.