Asian markets lifted by China support and trade optimism

Asian markets started the new decade on the front foot, with most rallying out of the blocks Thursday on lingering trade optimism, while China's central bank announced fresh stimulus for the country's stuttering economy.

The broad advances come as investors remain upbeat about the global outlook after Washington and Beijing eventually reached a trade agreement to ease tensions between the two, while Brexit uncertainty has essentially been removed.

However, geopolitical worries resurfaced following a warning from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests had ended, with talks with the US going nowhere.

Shanghai and Hong Kong led gains after the People's Bank of China said it would lower the amount of cash lenders must keep in reserve, freeing up more than USD 100 billion for loans to small businesses.

The move comes as leaders try to kickstart growth in the world's number two economy, which is running at its weakest for almost three decades.

"We expect the PBoC to continue to ease policy through 2020, trying to ensure growth remains around that six per cent target," Stephen Halmarick at Commonwealth Bank of Australia told Bloomberg TV.

"Easier monetary policy across Asia and the Pacific is a theme for this year as well."