Tokyo stocks rise

Tokyo stocks rose 1.46 percent on Friday, tracking a rise on Wall Street after the head of the European Central Bank said it would do whatever it could to save the embattled euro.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 123.54 points to 8,566.64, while the broader Topix index of all first- section issues ended up 1.61 percent, or 11.53 points, at 726.44.

Investors scooped up Tokyo shares following market rallies overnight and a rise in the euro after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said the bank was “ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro”.

On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 1.67 percent higher at 12,887.93.

Draghi's remarks eased

concerns over Spain's debt, said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment & research at SMBC Friend Securities.

“The worst- case scenario is avoided,” he said. The ECB has stayed out of government bond markets for the past few months, despite Spain's soaring borrowing costs which have touched record highs recently.

Analysts saw Draghi's comments as a hint the ECB may restart a programme to buy the bonds of debt-hit countries in the struggling 17nation eurozone.

Despite the uptick in sentiment, Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, said the eurozone's dire economic outlook was unlikely to see a reversal any time soon.

“Still, the rising trend in share prices appears likely to remain intact,” he said.

Markets would now turn their attention to US economic growth data due later in the day.