Associated Press Business Writer Stanchion
NEW YORK (AP) — US stocks held a record Friday, with a coast run towards the end of another victory week.
The S&P 500 is on track to finish its fourth victory week with a 0.1% increase in early trading, leaving its latest all-time highs. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 71 points (0.2%) as of 9:35am Eastern time, with Nasdaq Composite drifting around the previous day’s record set.
Deckers, the company behind Ugg Boots and Hoka Shoes, rose 16.6% after reporting stronger profits and revenues than analysts expected. That growth was particularly strong outside the US, where revenues have skyrocketed nearly 50%.
Edwards Lifesciences rose 8% after similarly flaunting its Wall Street profit expectations for the most recent quarter. We see strength across all product groups, and we expect full year profits to generate revenues at the high end of the forecast range we previously gave.
They helped offset Intel’s 8.8% decline after reporting the latest quarter losses that analysts were sought for profit. The struggling chipmaker also said it would cut thousands of jobs and eliminate other costs. Helping to launch Silicon Valley as a US technology hub, Intel has lagged behind rivals such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, as demand for artificial intelligence chips skyrockets.
After stock prices rose to records after the last few weeks of record, companies are in the company that will bring about strong profit growth. Wall Street has expanded in response to President Donald Trump’s hopes of reaching a trade contract with other countries that lowered his tough proposed tariffs, and that it could cause a recession and drive inflation. Trump recently announced a deal with Japan and the Philippines. The next big deadline is approaching on Friday, August 1st.
In addition to potential trade talks, next week we will also feature a Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. On Thursday, Trump again lobbyed to the Fed to cut back.
But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell continues to argue that he wants to wait for more data on how Trump’s tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes the next move. Lower interest rates can help with goosebumps in the economy, but they can also give more fuel to inflation.
Also, if the bond market feels that it can send higher inflation in the future, lower interest rates may not reduce the US government’s costs to borrow money. In that case, the short-term short-term interest rate decline raised by the Fed could actually have the opposite effect, potentially increasing the interest rates that Washington has to pay to borrow money in the long term.
The broad expectations on Wall Street are to wait for the Fed to resume cut interest rates until September.
In the bond market, Treasury yields have been relatively stable following Trump’s latest attempt to push Powell to cut interest rates. Trump also appears to have returned to the threat of firing the Fed’s chair.
“To do that is a big move and I don’t think it’s necessary,” Trump said. “I just want to see one thing happen. It’s very simple. Interest rates go down.”
If Trump fires Powell, he will risk surprise financial markets by increasing the likelihood of a non-independent Fed.
The 2010 Treasury yield fell from 4.43% to 4.42% in the second half of Thursday. The Treasury yields for the two-year period were more closely tracking expectations the Fed would do, stabilizing at 3.91%.
In overseas stock markets, the index has slipped through much of Europe and Asia.
Stocks fell 1.1% and Shanghai fell 0.3%. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said he will meet with Swedish Chinese officials to work towards a trade deal with Beijing ahead of the August 12 deadline. Trump said travel to China was “not too far” as trade tensions eased.
AP writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.
Original issue: July 25th, 2025 10:20am EDT
