US stock futures steadied near all-time highs on Friday as investors assessed a packed week of major earnings, trade deals, and President Trump’s unusual visit to the Federal Reserve.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) ticked up 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) traded flat on the heels of notching its fourth record close in a row thanks to hopes for AI growth. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed.
Markets are hitting pause on the recent risk-on rally that has seen the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) stack up records, setting the major gauges on track for weekly gains of around 1%.
Spirits got a boost from a US-Japan trade pact that boosted optimism for more deals, while blue-chip and Big Tech results underpinned a solid start to earnings season.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Trump visited the Fed on Thursday afternoon to take a tour of its $2.5 billion renovation project, led by chair Jerome Powell. The president has spent weeks criticizing the project as too expensive, sparking speculation he might use it as a pretext to try to fire Powell for alleged mismanagement.
During the tour, however, Trump indicated he wasn’t considering firing the Fed chair. “To do that is a big move, and I just don’t think it’s necessary,” he said.
The president also downplayed his disagreements with Powell over interest rates, saying he believes the chair will “do the right thing.” “I’d love him to lower interest rates,” the president reiterated.
Intel reported its earnings after the bell Thursday, beating Wall Street expectations on revenue. The company’s stock turned negative, however, as CEO Lip-Bu Tan discussed layoffs and the cancelation of some factory plans.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
This week, Wall Street has largely shrugged off trade tensions as Big Tech earnings roll in. Next week brings more market-moving results from members of the “Magnificent Seven,” including Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), and Amazon (AMZN).
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