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.

Markets on Wall Street were positioned to open at record highs Thursday after the Federal Reserve issued a bigger-than-usual interest rate cut intended to fortify a cooling labor market and prevent a

U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Friday, pausing after the previous session's rally set Wall Street's main indexes on track for weekly gains following the Federal Reserve's pivotal stance on monetary policy earlier in the week.

U.S. stock indexes remained stuck in place as Wall Street made few big moves ahead of what’s expected to be the first cut to interest rates in more than four years.