Asian stock markets advanced in early trading Thursday after worries about Europe's financial health eased, sending Wall Street higher.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.7 percent to 9,090.84, making back some of the previous day's 2.2 percent decline.
Sentiment improved as the yen, which hit a fresh 15-year-high against the dollar Wednesday, softened slightly. The dollar stood near the 84-yen line after dropping as low as 83.35 yen.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1 percent to 1,780.2, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1 percent to 4,580.5.
In New York overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.5 percent to close at 10,387.01.
News that Portugal managed to raise euro1.04 billion ($1.3 billion) in a debt auction Wednesday that drew strong investor interest helped ease some concerns about the European economy. Along with Greece, Portugal is widely thought to have the most shaky public finances of the 16 countries that share the euro.
But major indexes pared some gains after the Federal Reserve said in its "beige book" that more regions of the country saw slower growth late in the summer.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.6 percent to 1,098.87, while the Nasdaq rose 0.9 percent to 2,228.87.
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