Asian stock markets showed signs of improvement in early Friday trading, buoyed by the positive performance of U.S. markets the previous day. The rally on Wall Street, particularly in major technology stocks, helped lift regional sentiment. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.6% to 64,622.33, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9% to 6,635.67. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remained nearly flat, slipping slightly to 9,011.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.1% to 25,751.26, and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.8% to 3,973.27. On Wall Street, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all closed higher on Thursday. The tech sector was a major driver of the rally, with stocks like Microsoft, Apple, and Meta posting strong gains. Communication services stocks, which often have high valuations, had a significant impact on the broader market. Nvidia, a leading chipmaker, also rose 1.8% after announcing its $13 billion acquisition of the AI platform Hugging Face. In the energy sector, U.S. crude oil prices increased slightly, with benchmark U.S. crude rising 65 cents to $91.95 a barrel and Brent crude climbing 47 cents to $95.99. The recent tensions between the U.S. and Iran have contributed to rising energy prices. The six-month conflict has escalated, with Iran firing at Kuwait in response to U.S. attacks. Many countries, including Japan, rely on the Strait of Hormuz for oil imports from the Middle East. In the U.S. bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped slightly to 4.77%, a small decline from the previous day. The yield has been on an upward trend throughout the year, reaching as low as 4.20% at the start of 2026. Investors are paying close attention to comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who suggested that the Fed might not raise interest rates at its next meeting if inflation data shows signs of cooling. Meanwhile, market players are also watching Japan's central bank for any changes to its interest rate policy. Some analysts predict the Bank of Japan may raise its benchmark rate, though the extent of the increase remains uncertain. In currency markets, the U.S. dollar edged down slightly against the Japanese yen, while the euro remained nearly unchanged.