Stocks in major Asia Pacific markets made strong gains on Friday, as comments from a U.S. Federal Reserve official led to rising expectations the central bank could ease monetary policy more than expected.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 2% to close at 21,466.99, as shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron surged 3.48%. The Topix index also rose 1.94% to finish its trading day at 1,563.96.

In mainland China, shares gained on the day. The Shanghai composite rose 0.79% to about 2,924.20, while the Shenzhen composite added 0.751% to 1,560.27. The Shenzhen component also gained 0.81% to 9,228.55.

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 1.03%, as of its final hour of trading.

In South Korea, the Kospi closed 1.35% higher at 2,094.36, as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics advanced 1.52%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also rose 0.77% to close at 6,700.30. Shares of National Australia Bank jumped 2.19% following its announcement that it had hired Ross McEwan — credited with turning the Royal Bank of Scotland around — as its new CEO. McEwan's appointment comes as the bank fights to win back customer trust following damaging findings at the Royal Commission inquiry into the country's financial sector.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index advanced 0.93%.

Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch InBev said it was selling its Australian operations to Japan's Asahi, adding that it was still interested in "a potential offering of a minority stake of" Budweiser Brewing Company APAC. That Budweiser listing in Hong Kong was cancelled last week, with the company citing "several factors, including the prevailing market conditions" for the move.