Asian Market Rally, Japan's Adoption Of Negative Interest Rate, Buoy World Markets

UPDATE: 6:42 a.m. EST — European markets traded higher in morning trade Friday with London’s FTSE 100 up 0.95 percent and Germany’s DAX up 0.54 percent. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.62 percent while the pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.71 percent.

In the U.S., S&P 500 stock futures and the Dow Jones stock futures both rose 0.62 percent while Nasdaq stock futures were up 0.45 percent.

Original story:

Asian markets sprang to life with all major bourses trading up, after the Bank of Japan stunned markets Friday by adopting negative interest rates to bolster the country’s near-zero inflation. Shares in Shanghai led the rally on the last trading day of the month, recovering marginally from its worst monthly performance since the global financial crisis in 2008.

The Shanghai Composite closed 3.09 percent up while the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen ended up 3.2 percent. China’s Nasdaq-style ChiNext Index closed 4.6 percent up Friday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 2.54 percent up while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 2.8 percent by the end of the day. In India, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex traded 1.27 percent higher in late-afternoon trade.

In the U.S., stock futures tracked Asian markets, as stock futures on the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones index rose 0.72 percent while Nasdaq futures were up 0.63 percent.

Major European markets perked up in early trade, with shares in France leading the way. The CAC 40 rose 1.62 percent while London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.28 percent and Germany's DAX rose 1.07 percent. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 1.2 percent.

China’s central bank, the Peoples Bank of China, pumped 690 billion yuan ($104.8 billion) into the markets this week to ease liquidity concerns ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.

"January's market decline exceeded our expectations," a mutual fund manager in southern China, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. "However, after such a big correction, there's relatively small room for further falls, while the chance of a rebound is increasing."