Investing.com – Asian stock markets posted sharp gains on Thursday, as investor sentiment was boosted after the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a second round of quantitative easing.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.41%, South Korea's Kospi Composite gained 0.34%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index soared 2.17%.
Late Wednesday, the Fed said that it would buy USD 600 billion of U.S. government bonds over the next eight months in an effort to kick-start a "disappointingly slow" economic recovery.
The Nikkei’s gains came as shares in automaker Nissan soared 3.89% after it said third-quarter net profit rose significantly more-than-expected, rising to JPY 101.73 billion, up from JPY 25.23 billion a year earlier. The company said that third-quarter sales increased by 21% to JPY 2.26 trillion, with sales in North America rising by 16.1%, compared to a year earlier.
Elsewhere within the sector, shares in the world’s largest automaker Toyota surged 2.32%, shares in Honda, which gets more than 80% of its revenue outside Japan, jumped 1.50%, while Mazda saw shares rise 1.98%.
Many of the big-name Japanese exporters advanced, with shares in the world’s largest digital camera maker Canon jumping 2.86%, electronic manufacturer TDK Corporation saw shares surge 3.68%, while shares in computer chip maker Tokyo Electron soared 3.09%.
Meanwhile, shares in electronic giants Panasonic jumped 1.84% after it said it would acquire a small stake in U.S. automaker Tesla Motors for approximately USD 30 million.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares in the commodity sector led gains amid rising metal and crude oil prices. China’s largest oil and gas producer PetroChina saw shares jump 1.11%, while shares in Jiangxi Copper, China’s largest producer of the metal, soared 2.04%.
Meanwhile, in Europe, equity markets were broadly higher after the open. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 2.19%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.23%, the FTSE 100 surged 1.90% and Germany's DAX was up 1.40%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish key weekly data on initial jobless claims.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.41%, South Korea's Kospi Composite gained 0.34%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index soared 2.17%.
Late Wednesday, the Fed said that it would buy USD 600 billion of U.S. government bonds over the next eight months in an effort to kick-start a "disappointingly slow" economic recovery.
The Nikkei’s gains came as shares in automaker Nissan soared 3.89% after it said third-quarter net profit rose significantly more-than-expected, rising to JPY 101.73 billion, up from JPY 25.23 billion a year earlier. The company said that third-quarter sales increased by 21% to JPY 2.26 trillion, with sales in North America rising by 16.1%, compared to a year earlier.
Elsewhere within the sector, shares in the world’s largest automaker Toyota surged 2.32%, shares in Honda, which gets more than 80% of its revenue outside Japan, jumped 1.50%, while Mazda saw shares rise 1.98%.
Many of the big-name Japanese exporters advanced, with shares in the world’s largest digital camera maker Canon jumping 2.86%, electronic manufacturer TDK Corporation saw shares surge 3.68%, while shares in computer chip maker Tokyo Electron soared 3.09%.
Meanwhile, shares in electronic giants Panasonic jumped 1.84% after it said it would acquire a small stake in U.S. automaker Tesla Motors for approximately USD 30 million.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares in the commodity sector led gains amid rising metal and crude oil prices. China’s largest oil and gas producer PetroChina saw shares jump 1.11%, while shares in Jiangxi Copper, China’s largest producer of the metal, soared 2.04%.
Meanwhile, in Europe, equity markets were broadly higher after the open. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 2.19%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.23%, the FTSE 100 surged 1.90% and Germany's DAX was up 1.40%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish key weekly data on initial jobless claims.