Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Friday, tracking the positive cues overnight from Wall Street and European markets after the European Central Bank hinted at further economic stimulus measures in December. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average rose sharply to a near two-month high after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signalled that new stimulus measures could come as early as December, boosting riskier assets. Additionally, exporters' stocks were buoyed by a weaker yen.
Nikkei 225 surged 409.14 points or 2.22% to 18,845.01, Hang Seng strengthen 306.61 points or 1.34% to 23,151.98, KOSPI Index added 22.52 points or 1.11% to 2,045.52, Shanghai Composite gained 0.69 points or 0.02% to 3,369.43, Jakarta Composite spurt 55.01 points or 1.20% to 4,639.57, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI jumped 6.02 points or 0.35% to 1,711.11, Taiwan Weighted increased 72.21 points or 0.84% to 8,680.67, and Straits Times was up by 29.19 points or 0.96% to 3,067.30.