Wolrld Desk 

Asian stock markets climbed in early trading on Friday, following a third consecutive day of gains on Wall Street, fueled by optimism that the Federal Reserve may move to cut interest rates.

Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to reach 35,701.38, while South Korea's Kospi advanced 1% to 2,547.39. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 1.4% to 22,226.19. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite Index was mostly flat, hovering at 3,297.36.

Investor sentiment was lifted by speculation that former President Donald Trump may be easing his stance on tariffs and taking a softer tone toward the Federal Reserve. However, Beijing pushed back on Thursday, stating that China is not currently engaged in active trade talks with the U.S.

Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan’s Taiex saw a strong gain of 2.3%, while markets in Australia remained closed in observance of Anzac Day.

Wall Street’s rally kept rolling Thursday as better-than-expected profits for U.S. companies piled up in reports mainly from tech companies like ServiceNow and Texas Instruments, offsetting the uncertainties in the retail sector.

Federal Reserve officials boosted expectations for interest rate cuts as they said that they would slash the rate as early as June if Trump’s tariffs hurt the U.S. economy and job market.

The S&P 500 charged 2% higher to 5,484.77 and pulled within 11% of its record set earlier this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 40,093.40, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.7% to 17,166.04.

In other moves early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 13 cents to $62.92 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, added 22 cents to $66.77 per barrel.

The U.S dollar rose to 142.96 Japanese yen from 142.69 yen. The euro edged lower, to $1.1349 from $1.1391.