By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks recouped some losses after three straight losing sessions Friday, as markets across the region adopted an upbeat tone following a super-sized gains for U.S. stocks, although initial momentum fizzled somewhat at midday. Aside from Tokyo, markets in Hong Kong were the biggest standouts, with stocks bid higher amid speculation that the People's Bank of China could cut interest rates again as early as Friday evening as part of measures to shore up flagging growth. Canon Inc. and Mazda Motor Corp. led Japanese exporters higher, helped by a yen that weakened against the dollar. Mizuho Financial Group Japan's second-biggest bank, fell 1.5% following its earnings announcement Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 3.2% at 8,503.66 in afternoon trading. Australia S&P/ASX 200 added 1.9% at 3,768.30 and South Korea's Kospi slid back from earlier gains to trade little changed at 1,087.24. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 3.4% at 13,678.09 and China's Shanghai Composite Index added 1.2% to 1,950.81. "Most of the rally [in the U.S.] came in the final hour of trading, so Asian markets are not too convinced," said Alex Wong, director at Ample Financial Group in Hong Kong. He added markets in Hong Kong and China were responding positively to commitments by Beijing to spend heavily on infrastructure, although doubts that the measures would do little to boost corporate profits in the near term were mounting. "People are expecting a rate cut, so this providing some support to Hong Kong," Wong said, adding he expects the Hang Seng to end the year about 10% below current levels. Data released Friday showed China's s investment in factories, infrastructure and real estate decelerated to 27.2% in the first 10 months of this year, down slightly from a 27.6% gain through September. Singapore's Straits Times Index added 2%, Taiwan's Taiex was up 0.5% and Bangkok's SET added 1.4% Indonesia's JSX Composite added 0.9%, Kuala Lumpur's KLSE Composite rose 0.6%, and New Zealand's NZX-50 also tracked higher, adding 1.2%. Other notable gainers included shares of Canon Inc and Toyota Motor Corp . which rose 2.6% and 2% respectively. Mazda led gains among automotive, rising 3.6%. Japanese exporters were generally upbeat after the yen weakened to the lower-97 level against the U.S. dollar, down from around the upper-95 level in mid-morning Tokyo trade Thursday. Nippon Steel Corp.'s shares were up more than 5%. The gains followed a Friday report by the Nikkei newspaper that Brazil's Vale had dropped its bid for a second price hike this year on iron-ore shipments to the steelmaker. Shares in Sharp Corp. fell 0.3% after the electronics maker said Thursday it would book a $120 million fine as an extraordinary expense in the current quarter. The fine was levied by the U.S. Justice Department Wednesday for conspiring to fix prices on liquid-crystal displays. Sentiment across Asia was bolstered by a big turnaround on Wall Street Thursday , where shares rebounding from their October lows to rally in the final hour of trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 8,835, up 552.59 points or 6.7%, the S&P 500 Index added 59 points to 1,597 and the Nasdaq firmed 97.5 points to 1,597. Energy-sector stocks tracked overnight gains in oil prices, with Sydney-listed shares of Woodside Petroleum adding 4..4% and Hong Kong-listed offshore driller Cnooc rising 7.5%. Crude-oil futures for December were up as much as 6 cents to $58.30 a barrel in electronic trading in Tokyo, adding to a 3.7% rise on the Nymex Thursday.

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