Tokyo's Nikkei 225 briefly broke 30,000 for the first time in five months on growing expectations for a fresh injection of stimulus after Japan's prime minister said he would step aside, paving the way for a new big-spending successor
The broad gains put the region on course to end a strong week on a positive note as concerns about the fast-spreading Delta variant, which weighed on confidence for much of August, gave way to optimism over the recovery outlook
Weaker jobs numbers, due to be released on Friday, could instead cement a case for later action - a pre-announcement in November with a formal decision in December
The rouble was flat at 73.53 against the dollar after briefly touching its strongest level since Aug. 18 of 73.4475. It also stabilised at 86.77 versus the euro
Sterling has traded largely in line with global risk sentiment in financial markets in recent weeks, tracking the direction of world stock markets higher or lower
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, edged up 0.05% to 92.867 after dropping to 92.801 overnight for the first time since Aug. 17
Risk appetite in global markets was up, after the US Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech
The rouble was up 0.2% against the dollar at 74.10, having hit 74.5950 on Friday for its weakest since July 20. Versus the euro, the rouble added 0.2% to 86.75
The primary source for investor concern is the global prominence of the Delta coronavirus variant which is set to weigh on European manufacturing survey data due shortly