New York, Jul 25 (AP) US stocks are ticking toward more records and coasting toward the close of another winning week. The S&P 500 was up 0.1 per cent in early trading Friday, coming off its latest all-time high.

The index is on track to finish its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 82 points, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1 per cent. Deckers, the company behind Ugg boots and Hoka shoes, soared after reporting stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected.

Intel fell after reporting a loss for the latest quarter, when analysts were looking for a profit.

Intel shares tumbled more than 7 per cent overnight after the chipmaker announced plans to reduce its “core” workforce by nearly one-quarter and cut other expenses in a bid to revive the fortunes of the struggling chipmaker. Intel, which helped launch Silicon Valley as the US technology hub, has fallen behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices while demand for artificial intelligence chips soars.

Deckers Brands was up more than 13 per cent overnight after the shoe company easily beat Wall Street's sales and profit targets. Deckers said first-quarter sales rose 17 per cent from the same quarter last year, to USD 965 million, on the strength of its Ugg and Hoka brands.

Boston Beer Co, the maker of Samuel Adams beer and Truly hard seltzer, climbed 7.8 per cent after its second-quarter profit came in well ahead of analysts' forecasts. Boston Beer saw its net income rise more than 15 per cent over last year, boosting its earnings per share in the period to USD 5.45. Analysts were expecting profit of USD 3.86 per share.

Stocks have broadly been rallying for weeks on hopes that President Donald Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will lower his stiff proposed tariffs, along with the risk that they could cause a recession and drive up inflation. The deadline for those negotiations comes next Friday, August 1.

Next week brings the peak of earnings season, with more than 100 companies in the benchmark S&P 500 reporting their latest results.

The Fed, under pressure from President Trump to lower its benchmark borrowing rate, will announce its latest decision on interest rates Wednesday. Despite pressure coming from the White House, most analysts think the Fed will stand pat, leaving its benchmark rate alone for the fifth straight time.

The economic data calendar is also full, with three separate reports on the labour market, including the always closely-watched monthly jobs report.

Elsewhere, in Europe at midday, Germany's DAX shed 0.8 per cent, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.4 per cent. In Paris, the CAC 40 slipped 0.1 per cent.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.9 per cent to 41,456.23 after two days of gains following President Donald Trump's announcement of a trade deal that would place a 15 per cent tax on imports from Japan. That's lower than the 25 per cent rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on August 1.

Data released on Friday showed the inflation rate in Japan's capital Tokyo rose 2.9 per cent year-on-year in July, down from 3.1 per cent in June. Japanese government efforts to moderate inflation are working, though underlying Tokyo price pressures remain elevated, ING Economics said in a commentary.

It expects the Bank of Japan to hold interest rates steady at its July 30-31 meeting, but said the central bank would likely raise its forecast for inflation.

In Chinese markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1 per cent to 25,388.35 and the Shanghai Composite index slid 0.3 per cent to 3,593.66.

Next week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he will meet with Chinese officials in Stockholm, Sweden, to work toward a trade deal with Beijing ahead of an August 12 deadline. Trump has said a China trip “is not too distant” as trade tensions ease.

“One big question for markets is whether the tariff ceasefire is extended. We expect that an agreement will be attainable, but, in the interim, markets will watch closely to see if there are adjustments to current tariff rates in either direction,” ING Economics said.

In South Korea, the Kospi picked up 0.2 per cent to 3,196.05, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5 per cent to 8,666.90.

Taiwan's Taiex edged less than 0.1 per cent lower, and in India, the Sensex fell 0.9 per cent.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent to its all-time high set the day before, closing at 6,363.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 per cent to 44,693.91, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 per cent to a record 21,057.96.

In energy trading, US benchmark crude oil added 27 cents to USD 66.30 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, also rose 27 cents to USD 68.63 per barrel.

The US dollar rose to 147.65 Japanese Yen from 147.00 Yen. The Euro fell to USD 1.1723 from USD 1.1750. (AP) NPK NPK