S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records; Deckers soars on UGG demand

By Noel Randewich

(Reuters) -The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched record high closes on Friday, lifted by optimism the U.S. could soon reach a trade deal with the European Union, while Deckers Outdoor surged following a strong quarter for the maker of UGG boots and Hoka sneakers.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday in Scotland after EU officials and diplomats said they expected to reach a framework trade deal this weekend. Trump said earlier that the odds of a U.S.-EU trade deal were "50-50".

Deckers Outdoor soared 11% after results beat quarterly estimates, with strong demand in international markets.

Intel tumbled 8.5% after the chipmaker forecast steeper quarterly losses than expected and announced plans to slash jobs.

Wall Street has surged to record highs in recent weeks, thanks to upbeat quarterly earnings, trade deals with Japan and the Philippines, and expectations that the White House will cement more agreements to avoid elevated tariffs threatened by Trump.

"The market has been anticipating that the deals are going to get done," said Thomas Martin, Senior Portfolio Manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta. "Personally, I have a bit more skepticism. You've got to be careful, because if they don't get done, there is more room for disappointment than there is upside."

The S&P 500 climbed 0.40% to end the session at 6,388.64 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.24% to 21,108.32 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.47% to 44,901.92 points.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by materials, up 1.17%, followed by a 0.98% gain in industrials.

For the week, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5%, the Nasdaq added 1% and the Dow rose 1.3%.

The S&P 500 set a closing record every day this week. The last time the index had a "perfect week" of closing highs, Monday through Friday, was in November 2021, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Investors next week will focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve, with policymakers on Thursday expected to hold interest rates steady as the central bank weighs the impact of tariffs on inflation.

Traders see about a 60% chance of a rate cut in September, according to CME's FedWatch tool. 

Trump said on Friday he believed that Fed Chair Jerome Powell might be ready to lower rates. Trump made a rare visit to the Fed on Thursday after calling Powell a "numbskull" earlier in the week for failing to slash rates.

Charter Communications slumped 18% after the cable giant reported a deeper-than-expected broadband subscriber loss, hurt by competition from wireless carriers bundling high-speed internet services with 5G mobile plans.

Paramount Global dipped 1.6% after U.S. regulators approved its $8.4-billion merger with Skydance Media.

Health insurer Centene rose 6.1% after it said it expects to deliver improved profitability in its three government-backed healthcare insurance businesses in 2026.

S&P 500 companies are expected on average to increase their second-quarter earnings by 7.7% year over year, according to LSEG I/B/E/S, with most of those gains coming from heavyweight tech-related companies.

Companies reporting next week include Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Meta Platforms.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a two-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 45 new highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 68 new highs and 54 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 17.7 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 18.1 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Pooja Desai and David Gregorio)