HONG KONG, Oct 31 (AFP): Asian markets rallied Friday and the dollar pushed past 111 yen after Japan's central bank said it would expand its vast monetary easing scheme and the United States released forecast-busting economic growth data.
Japanese stocks clocked up gains of almost five per cent to sit at a seven-year high after the Bank of Japan announced its surprise decision in a bid to drag the economy back from the brink of recession.
The Nikkei jumped 4.83 per cent, adding 755.56 points to 16,413.76 -- its highest since November 2007 -- with buying further boosted by a report that country's vast national pension fund would double its domestic equities holdings. The index is now in positive territory for the year to date.
Sydney closed up 0.92 per cent, or 50.4 points, at 5,526.6 and Seoul tacked on 0.28 per cent, or 5.50 points, to end at 1,964.43.
Hong Kong climbed 1.25 per cent, or 296.02 points, to 23,998.06 while Shanghai jumped 1.22 per cent, or 29.10 points, to 2,420.18 -- its highest since February last year.
The BoJ said Friday it would add up to 20 trillion yen ($182 billion) to its current asset-buying scheme, bringing it to 80 trillion yen annually.
The decision sent the yen sinking to 111.22 against the dollar, levels not seen since January 2008. The euro rose to 139.76 yen from 137.79 yen in morning trade and 137.75 yen in New York Thursday.
The Japanese unit was already heading south after data showed the US economy grew a better-than-expected 3.5 per cent in the three months to the end of September.
Friday's move is the first since the BoJ launched its huge bond-buying scheme in April last year as part of Tokyo's wider plan to conquer years of deflation and jumpstart the economy.
It comes as the world's number three economy struggles to pick up following an April sales tax hike that torpedoed a nascent recovery.
The economy contracted 7.1 per cent on an annualised basis in the second of the year and there are fears of another downturn in July-September, which would technically put the country in recession.
Official figures showed Friday that September inflation slowed further, household spending plunged and unemployment rose, raising further questions about the government's recovery plan, which saw a painful sales tax hike in April.
Also in Japan a report in the Nikkei business daily said the country's public pension fund -- the world's biggest -- will double the amount of stocks it holds in its investment portfolio as it seeks out higher returns to cope with an ageing population.
Wall Street ended on a high after the US growth data, with the Dow surging 1.30 per cent, while the S&P 500 added 0.62 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 0.37 per cent.
