U.S. stock futures were firmer early Friday as they defiantly held onto the upward momentum amid trade deal optimism and earnings hopes. Intel (INTC) stock slumped over 4.50% in extended trading following the struggling chipmaker’s quarterly results.

The rally since the April 22 follow-through day has lifted both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs and several stocks are extended headed into earnings. A few exceptions can be found, with Apple building a long consolidation that has a buy point of 260.10.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended Thursday's session with fresh record closes after scoring new all-time intraday highs earlier in the trading day. The broad market index closed 0.07% higher to end at 6,363.35, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 0.18% to finish at 21,057.96.

A proposed trade deal with Japan gave Wall Street the excuse it needed to keep stocks moving upward, despite problematic earnings reports and manufacturing data.

Live Updates Live Coverage Has Ended Friday Wrap-up 4:09 pm The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed Friday at 585.55, up 0.4% for the day and 1.5% for the week. Bullish on Southwest -- Or Was That Bearish? 11:58 am Expanding its coverage of airline stocks,

U.S. stocks moved higher on Monday as optimism around earnings overshadowed any investor fears over the latest developments in trade.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record high closes on Thursday as robust results from Google parent Alphabet fueled optimism about other heavyweight artificial intelligence stocks, while Tesla slumped after the electric vehicle maker's results disappointed investors.

Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed Tuesday as investors reacted to the latest earnings reports and prepared for Big Tech results due tomorrow.

Stock futures were little changed on Monday night after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit fresh records. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average 59 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures added 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.03%.