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In a buying frenzy that was as spectacular as the recent rout, U.S. stocks soared with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketing more than 1,000 points for the first time on Wednesday.

That helped push MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.8 percent and away from eight-week lows.

There was no single trigger for the overnight relief rally on Wall Street, though a Mastercard Inc report that sales during the U.S. holiday shopping season rose the most in six years in2018 helped allay concerns about the health of the U.S. economy

·         Japan’s Nikkei share average rallied on Thursday, pulling away from a 20-month low, after Wall Street rebounded sharply from deep losses suffered earlier this week.

The Nikkei ended the day up 3.88 percent at 20,077.62, posting its biggest one-day percentage gain since November 2016. The index, which had sunk into bear market territory this week, hit 18,948.58 on Wednesday - its lowest since late April 2017.

·         Chinese shares marked their lowest close in four years on Thursday, dragged down by Sinopec which fell after Reuters reported that the state-owned oil giant had suspended two top executives at its trading arm.

The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6 percent to 2,483.09 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.4 percent.

Sinopec, officially known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, suspended two top officials for inflicting severe losses in trading, Reuters reported on Thursday.