Asia stocks hit near-decade highs ahead of ECB

The stocks on the Asian bourses extended its recent bullish momentum and traded at the highest levels seen since December 2007.

The Asian indices tracked the upbeat tone seen in their Wall Street counterparts overnight, after the US stocks surged to new records on stronger corporate earnings.

Additionally, with the BOJ maintaining the dovish tone at its monetary policy review meeting, the Japanese corporates cheer an extended period of cheap money, in turn boosting the local stock markets. Focus now shifts towards the ECB policy outcome for further momentum on the region’s equities.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index rises +0.57% to 20,135, Australia’s ASX 200 jumps +0.54% to 5,765, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.20% to 3,235 levels. Meanwhile, the MSCI World index inched up in its 10th straight session of gains on Thursday and set a record high for the sixth consecutive day.