At 14:49 in Lisbon, the Nasdaq was up 0.07% at 21,072.30 points, while the Dow Jones also gained 0.07% to 44,725.49 points, and the S&P500 rose 0.15% to 6,372.81 points.
The New York Stock Exchange closed on Thursday with new records for the S&P500 and Nasdaq indices, although the Dow Jones fell, on a day marked by quarterly results from major companies such as Alphabet and Tesla, and anticipation over trade agreements being negotiated by the United States.
The session results indicate that the broad index S&P500 gained 0.07%, closing at an unprecedented 6,363.35 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq also reached an all-time high at 21,057.96, following a 0.70% increase.
The selective Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped 0.70%, after nearly reaching its highest record the previous day.
Wall Street is on track to close the week at historic highs, ahead of a busy schedule of corporate earnings next week, labor market reports, a Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting, and the final deadline for trade tariffs.
Companies are under pressure to show solid profit growth after their stock prices reached consecutive record highs in recent weeks.
Wall Street surged with hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump would secure trade deals with other countries.
Trump recently announced agreements with Japan and the Philippines, and the August 1 deadline is approaching.
Apart from potential trade negotiations, next week will also be highlighted by a Fed meeting on interest rates.
Trump reiterated pressure on the Fed on Thursday to cut rates, which he believes could save the U.S. government money on its debt payments.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, however, continues to insist on waiting for more data on how Trump’s tariffs will affect the economy and inflation.
A lower interest rate environment could help boost the economy but might also fuel inflation.
The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates.
Trump also seemed to backtrack on threats to fire the Fed Chairman. “Taking that step [firing Jerome Powell] is significant, and I don’t think it’s necessary,” Trump said. “I just want to see one simple thing happen: lower interest rates,” he added.
If Trump were to dismiss Powell, it could alarm financial markets by suggesting a less independent Fed, unable to make decisions to keep the economy healthy.
