Asian stocks surged on Friday with Japan’s Nikkei leading regional gains after Wall Street romped to records following the Federal Reserve’s big cut to interest rates. U.S. futures and oil prices were lower.

The decision by the Fed's policy-setting committee to cut interest rates for the first time since March 2020 was prefaced by an unusual amount of market uncertainty as to how much the central bank would lower its benchmark rate from a two-decade high of 5.25% to 5.5%, where it has stood since July 2023.