CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks posted strong gains on Wednesday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi opened the door to more monetary stimulus and U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for an 'extended' meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Japan next week.
Investors also waited for the outcome of the FOMC meeting amid increased expectations for dovish remarks.
China's Shanghai Composite index gained 27.65 points or 0.96 percent to 2,917.80 on expectations of monetary easing in both the United States and Europe. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied as much as 2.56 percent to 28,202.14.
Japanese shares closed near six-week highs as dovish comments from ECB President Mario Draghi and Trump's upbeat tone on the trade front boosted investors' appetite for risk. Fed rate cut hopes also supported sentiment.
The Nikkei average climbed 361.16 points or 1.72 percent to 21,333.87, the highest closing level since May 10. The broader Topix index closed 1.74 percent higher at 1,555.27.
Nomura Holdings soared 10.5 percent on share buyback news. Japan Display shares jumped 10.9 percent after reports that Apple has shown a willingness to help the struggling Japanese company.
China-exposed companies rose on trade optimism, with TDK Corp, Advantest and Taiyo Yuden climbing 5-6 percent.
Nissan Motor rose 1.4 percent. The Wall Street Journal reported that alliance partners Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA are nearing a deal to resolve a standoff over changes to Nissan's corporate governance.
Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 967.1 billion yen in May, a government report showed today. That exceeded expectations for a shortfall of 1,207.0 billion yen following the 110.9 billion yen deficit in April.
Exports were down 7.8 percent year on year to 5.835 trillion yen while imports sank an annual 1.5 percent.
Seoul stocks climbed as investors cheered Trump's comments on trade negotiations. The benchmark Kospi jumped 26.07 points or 1.24 percent to 2,124.78, led by technology stocks.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rallied 2.3 percent and SK Hynix soared 6 percent. It was the first time since May 8 that the index had topped the 2,120-mark.
Australian markets rallied amid signs of easing in U.S.-China trade tensions. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index climbed 78.10 points or 1.19 percent to 6,648.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 80.60 points or 1.21 percent at 6,728.50.
Energy stocks such as Santos, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search, Origin Energy and Beach Energy jumped 2-3 percent as oil prices spiked on news of a planned meeting between U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting.
News Corp soared 4.6 percent on news it was evaluating options for its News America Marketing business, including a potential sale.
Miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group climbed 2-3 percent while banks ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac rose around 1 percent each.
GPT Group shares entered a trading halt after the property group launched an A$800 million placement.
New Zealand shares rose sharply, led by dual-listed banks such as ANZ and Westpac. The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended up 113.50 points or 1.11 percent at 10,304.83 after hitting a record high of 10,309.89.
New Zealand posted a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of NZ$2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2019, Statistics New Zealand said in a report following the NZ$3.256 billion shortfall in the three months prior.
U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight on optimism that an upcoming G-20 meeting between Trump and Xi would lay the groundwork for a possible deal.
Sentiment was bolstered after President Donald Trump tweeted that he had a 'very good' telephone conversation with the Chinese President and will have an 'extended meeting' at the G20 summit next week.
'Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China. We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting,' Trump tweeted.
Elsewhere, ECB President Mario Draghi suggested the bank will announce more stimulus through rate cuts or asset purchases - if inflation doesn't pick up.
The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged around 1.4 percent while the S&P 500 advanced 1 percent.
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