Asian stock markets rose on Friday, while the US stocks maintained growth at Wall Street for the fourth consecutive day and European stock futures rose, after the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced alongside other major central banks to reintroduce three-month dollar liquidity operations in the fourth quarter.

Five major central banks - the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan on Thursday decided to pump dollars into the European banking system by arranging three new funding operations. "What was good about the liquidity announcement is that the European Central Bank (ECB) has got ahead of the game," the Wall Street Journal quoted CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy as saying. The operation to forestall a funding crisis in Europe spurred a rally in regional stock market. The Dow Jones Industrials ended higher by 186.45 points, or 1.7%, at 11,433.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended higher by 34.52 points, or 1.34%, to 2,607.07 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 20.43 points, or 1.72%, to 1,209.11.

Japan''s Nikkei Stock Average climbed 2.0%, Australia''s S&P/ASX 200 tacked on 1.9% and South Korea''s Kospi Composite tacked on 3.6%. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng Index added 2.1% and China''s Shanghai Composite was up 0.4%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 20 points in screen trade. But traders cautioned market confidence will continue to be held hostage to the deepening debt crisis in Europe, according to WSJ. In Tokyo, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rose 3.9%, Macquarie jumped 4.7% in Sydney, Woori Finance climbed 6.9% in Seoul and HSBC tacked on 3.4% in Hong Kong.

In Tokyo, companies with heavy euro-zone exposure climbed after the liquidity-boosting move pushed the euro sharply higher Thursday against the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen. Olympus jumped 7.1% and Canon climbed 4.6%. Esprit Holdings tumbled 22.4% in Hong Kong, extending Thursday''s 17.6% drop amid a slew of analyst downgrades on the company''s earnings and outlook, with Kim Eng calling the results "a disaster." In foreign exchange markets, the euro is set for its first weekly gain against the yen this month on prospects costs for dollar funding will drop, according to Bloomberg. "Liquidity is one part of the story, but capital is another.

So long as investors worry about eurozone sovereign exposure, there will be fear of undercapitalization amongst banks and risk will likely trade on a heavy note and the euro will suffer accordingly," UBS said in a note to clients quoted by WSJ. The 17-nation currency rose against all of its major counterparts this week as euro-area finance ministers prepare to meet today.

The single currency was at $1.3863 against the dollar, from $1.3875 late Thursday in New York, and at Y106.43 against the yen, from Y106.45. The dollar was at Y76.78 from Y76.70. The European stock futures rose, indicating the Stoxx Europe 600 Index will extend its weekly gain, said Bloomberg.

The Stoxx 600 has advanced 1.8 percent this week. The currencies of Australia and New Zealand gained as Asian stocks rallied, while the Philippine peso headed for its biggest loss this year. The surge in risk appetite weighed gold, with the spot price at $1,7667.30 per troy ounce, down $22.50 from New York trade. October crude oil futures were up 18 cents at $89.58 a barrel on Globex. Read More