Markets have been rattled this week by fears that Spain, the fourth-largest economy among the 17 that use the euro, could need a bailout along the lines of Greece, Ireland and Portugal because its borrowing rates are high. That would strain Europe's finances and potentially cause the breakup of the euro.
But sentiment turned brighter after the ECB's chief Mario Draghi pledged that would not happen, asserting Thursday that "the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro." That could involve buying government bonds to lower the borrowing rates of financially stumbling countries such Spain and Italy. European stocks surged. France's CAC 40 jumped 4.1 per cent and Spain's IBEX 35 vaulted 6.1 per cent.
Asian markets also got a boost after Samsung reported another record-high quarterly profit as customers flocked to Galaxy smartphones, helping it outdo rivals even at one of the most challenging times for the global tech industry. Samsung Electronics rose 3.9 per cent in Seoul.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was up 1.5 per cent at 8,568.06 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.9 per cent to 19,248.94. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 per cent to 4,181.60. South Korea's Kospi climbed 2 per cent to 1,817.44 and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2 per cent to 2,129.23. Wall Street was also boosted by Draghi's comments despite disappointing earnings.
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