U.S. stock futures inched higher Friday as traders looked to build on this week’s record-setting run. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 40 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures edged up 0.1%. FedEx shares rose 13% in the premarket after posting adjusted earnings that beat analyst estimates. Lululemon slid 11% after the athleisure retailer posted weak guidance on the back of slowing growth in North America, while Nike sank 6% on disappointing guidance and slowing China sales. All three major averages closed at record levels on Thursday for a second day. The indices also hit all-time intraday highs. The Dow gained about 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added roughly 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Thursday was the fourth straight winning session for the three indexes. One reason for this market optimism might stem from the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee’s expectation for three rate cuts this year even after a couple of hot inflation reports, according to Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Investors have “always been more aggressive on rate hikes and more aggressive on rate cuts than the fed funds futures markets, but the Fed has delivered through the dot plot and we finally lined up,” he said. “You get a couple of inflation data points that are a touch hotter, and I think realistically the Street’s thought process has become much more rational and lines up well with where the Fed is right now,” Hogan added. The three major averages are tracking for healthy gains this week, with the S&P 500 tracking for a 2.4% pop and the Nasdaq rising nearly 2.7%. The Dow is the outperformer of the three, up almost 2.8% through Thursday’s close and on pace for its best week since December. U.S. Treasury yields fell on Friday as investors weighed the path ahead for monetary policy and considered when the Federal Reserve will begin interest rate cuts. At 6:23 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by more than 2 basis points to 4.243%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last nearly 2 basis points lower at 4.613%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly crossed 41,000 to hit a fresh all-time high on Friday as the country’s inflation accelerated in February, while other Asia-Pacific markets declined. However, the Nikkei retreated to close just below the 41,000 mark, ending up 0.18% at 40,888.43. The Topix also hit a fresh record, gaining 0.61% to 2,813.22. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged as much as 3%, dragged by electric vehicle stocks, but pared losses and were last down 1.88%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1.01% to close at 3,545. The Hang Seng Tech index shed 3.18%, with shares of Li Auto plunging 10.44% on Friday after the EV maker cut its first-quarter deliveries forecast. South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.23% lower at 2,748.56 after leading gains in Asia on Thursday, while the small-cap Kosdaq was ended down 0.03% at 903.98. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.15% to 7,770.6, while the Taiwan Weighted Index traded close to the flatline after the central bank raised its policy rate in a surprise move on Thursday. Oil prices were little changed on Friday, with global benchmark Brent hovering above $85 per barrel, as the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza gained traction. Brent crude futures were down 2 cents to $85.76 a barrel by 1017 GMT. U.S. crude futures were up 1 cent at $81.08 per barrel. Gold prices slipped on Friday due to a stronger dollar, although they were set for a fourth weekly gain in five as the U.S Federal Reserve’s decision to retain its interest rate-cut projections for 2024 bolstered bullion’s appeal. Spot gold was down 0.6% at $2,166.79 per ounce. Bullion has risen 0.8% so far this week. U.S. gold futures fell 0.8% to $2,168.10 per ounce.