Markets Try to Build on Record Closes
Stock futures inched higher early Friday after the S&P 500 and NASDAQ reached another record closing high and major indexes looked to close out a positive week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials poked higher 29 points, or 0.1%, to 44,928.
Futures for the broader index eked higher 4.75 points, or 0.1%, to 6,406.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ dipped 2.5 points to 23,375.
Booz Allen Hamilton shares jumped nearly 3% in the premarket Friday after the company’s first-quarter earnings for its fiscal year 2026 surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.
While the Dow saw losses Thursday, all three major averages are on pace to finish the week with gains. The 30-stock Dow is tracking for an almost 1% advance on the week, as is the tech-heavy NASDAQ, while the S&P 500 has risen about 1.1% week to date.
Thursday marked another positive day for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ, as both indexes scored fresh all-time intraday and closing highs.
That marked the broad market index’s 13th record close of 2025, four of which were recorded this week as the index finished above 6,300 for the first time on Monday. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, has seen three record closes this week, breaking the 21,000 threshold on Wednesday.
Recent trade deals between the U.S. and its trading partners have also helped push the market to new heights. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan, which includes 15% “reciprocal” tariffs. The president also said this week that the U.S. and Indonesia have agreed to the framework of a trade agreement.
Investors are now awaiting any further trade announcements before the Trump administration’s Aug. 1 tariff deadline.
Next week is also when the Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet once again. Policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates at their current target range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index backed off 0.9% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng retreated 1.1%
Oil prices acquired 23 cents to $66.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tumbled $32.80 to $3,340.70 U.S. an ounce.
