For all the nail-biting about the economy over the past year, investors had it easy: a 5% yield on short-term U.S. debt, one of the safest investments in the world. Now, the times they are a-changin’—again.

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.

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.

Traders in Asia will also look toward August consumer prices index from Japan and Hong Kong, and central bank decisions from Bank of Japan and People's Bank of China.

Japan's Nikkei share average jumped more than 2 per cent in the morning session on Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, while traders also kept a wary eye ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision later in the day.