Investors were digesting a busy week of tariff hikes and inflation updates, as fresh retail data and earnings reports rolled in.

U.S. stocks rallied to the brink of a record after more companies reported fatter profits than expected. The S&P 500 rose 1% Thursday.

Wall Street is flirting with a record, as U.S. stock indexes drift following some mixed profit reports from big companies. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early Friday trading,

U.S. stocks are rising Thursday as big companies keep reporting bigger profits than expected. Wall Street mostly yawned at the latest announcement on tariffs by President Donald Trump, which may not take full effect for months.