Wall Street is drifting toward the finish of its third winning week in the last four, as more big U.S. companies deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. The S&P 500 was up 0.<\/p>\n
Wall Street is drifting toward the finish of its third winning week in the last four, as more big U.S. companies deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in early trading Friday after setting an all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 20 points, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.4%. Charles Schwab rose 4.4% after reporting better-than-expected results. Norfolk Southern chugged 2.5% higher after an AP source said it\u2019s talking with Union Pacific about a merger to create the largest railroad in North America. <\/p>\n
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP\u2019s earlier story follows below.<\/p>\n
Markets on Wall Street quietly hovered at record levels before the bell Friday with most of the attention on the latest corporate earnings reports and dealmaking.<\/p>\n
Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all ticked up less than 0.1% before the bell.<\/p>\n
A day earlier, the S&P 500 topped its all-time high set a week ago and the Nasdaq composite added to its own record<\/a> set the day before.<\/p>\n Shares of Norfolk Southern jumped 4% on reports that it is in merger talks with Union Pacific<\/a> to create the largest railroad in North America that would connect the East and West Coasts. The merger discussions began during the first quarter of this year, according to an AP source. Union Pacific shares ticked up 0.5%.<\/p>\n Shares of Chevron and Hess both got a boost on reports that their $53 billion merger<\/a> was proceeding after Exxon Mobil’s arbitration challenge was rejected in Paris. Exxon Mobil\u2019s had asserted that it had a contractual right to make an offer for Hess\u2019 Guyana assets. <\/p>\n Chevron announced its deal for Hess in October 2023, less than two weeks<\/a> after Exxon Mobil said that it would acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion.<\/p>\n