Most Asian stock markets advanced Thursday after worries about Europe’s financial health eased, sending Wall Street higher.

News that Portugal managed to raise E1.04 billion ($1.3 billion) in a debt auction Wednesday that drew strong investor interest helped ease jitters about the European economy. Along with Greece, Portugal is widely thought to have the shakiest public finances of the 16 countries that share the euro.

But major U.S. 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.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 70.92 points, or 0.8 percent, to 9,095.52, 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 was near the 84-yen line after dropping as low as 83.35 yen.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.7 percent to 21,230.94. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1 percent to 4,579.80 a day after the country’s Labour Party secured support from independent lawmakers to form a new government.

investors also digested news that authorities again blocked National Australia Bank’s takeover bid for rival AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd. Shares of National Australia Bank Ltd. surged 3.5 percent, while those of AXA plunged 8.8 percent.

Among decliners, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.1 percent to 1,777.59 after the Bank of Korea left its key interest rate near a record low for a second straight month citing risks to the global growth outlook.

In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.32, or 0.5 percent, to close at 10,387.01. The Dow had been up as much as 86 points earlier in the day before paring those gains after the Fed’s regional economic report came out.

The S&P 500 index rose 7.03 or 0.6 percent, to 1,098.87, while the Nasdaq rose 19.98, or 0.9 percent, to 2,228.87.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 83.78 yen 83.92 yen in New York. The euro was little changed at $1.2729.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 2 cents at $74.69 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 58 cents to settle at $74.67 on Wednesday.

Associated Press