SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia made broad brush gains on Thursday despite a sudden upturn in the U.S. dollar, which put pressure on the British pound, interrupting its recovery rally.

Overnight the Bank of England began a bond-buying program to underpin Gilts and the UK currency. The value of the Gilts rose sharply, pushing yields lower, however the currency again came under pressure.

"It's all a bit of a mess," ANZ economist Finn Robinson told Reuters Thursday.

"How long the calm and fresh optimism lasts remains to be seen. For one, this re-stimulation will lift, not quell UK inflation, and that's bad for bonds and sterling."

DBS' rates strategist Eugene Leow in Singapore concurred. "Note that nothing has fundamentally changed other than a circuit breaker provided by BOE," Leow told Reuters Thursday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 248.07 points, or 0.95 percent, to 26,422.05.

The Australian All Ordinaries advanced 100.80 points or 1.51 percent to 6,760.60.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 gained 80.47 points or 0.72 percent to 11,200.04.

South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 1.64 points or 0.08 percent to 2,170.93.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng, going against the trend, retreated 85.01 points or 0.49 percent to 17,165.87. China's Shanghai Composite too weakened, albeit by just 3.86 points or 0.13 percent, to 3,041.20.

The U.S. dollar regained momentum during the Asian trading zone Thursday, pushing the pound back to 1.0789 by the Sydney close. The euro softened to 0.9662. The Japanese yen was little changed at 144.74. The Swiss franc edged lower to 0.9840.

The Canadian dollar was weak at 1.3723. The Australian dollar was sharply lower at 0.6457. The New Zealand dollar slid to 0.5664.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 222.13 points or 2.05 percent to 11,051.64.

The Dow Jones industrials surged 548.75 points or 1.88 percent to 29,683.74.

The Standard and Poor's 500 added 71.75 points or 1.97 percent to 3,719.04.