All three major US stock indexes were up in late-morning trading on Friday after President Donald Trump reportedly said there are even odds the US will enter a trade deal with the European Union.
Speaking to reporters before leaving the White House for a trip to Scotland, Trump said, "I would say that we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50/50 chance of making a deal with the EU."
In equities, Intel (INTC) shares were down over 9% in recent Friday trading after the company reported late Thursday a decision against proceeding with planned projects in Germany and Poland, and to instead consolidate its assembly and test operations in Costa Rica into larger sites in Vietnam and Malaysia.
The chipmaker also outlined a plan to cut its workforce by 15% by the end of this year.
Late Thursday, the company reported a Q2 adjusted loss of $0.10 per diluted share, from adjusted earnings of $0.02 a year earlier. Intel also issued Q3 guidance of no earnings on revenue of $12.6 billion to $13.6 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect earnings of $0.02 on revenue of $13.03 billion.
Aon (AON) shares added 5% after the company said its Q2 adjusted earnings rose to $3.49 per diluted share from $2.93 and revenue climbed to $4.16 billion from $3.76 billion a year earlier.
Charter Communications (CHTR) shares slid more than 17% after the company reported Q2 net income of $9.18 per diluted share, higher than the year-ago period's $8.49 but lower than analysts' estimates.
Meta Platforms (META) said it will stop allowing political, electoral, and social issue ads on its platforms in the EU starting early October in response to the EU's new Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation.
The rules could hurt voter access to critical information, the company added. Meta shares were up 0.5%.
Paramount Global's (PARA) $8 billion acquisition by Skydance was approved by the Federal Communications Commission, transferring control of CBS broadcast licenses to the new ownership, the FCC said Thursday.
Shares of Paramount Global were down 1.4%.
Price: 20.57, Change: -2.07, Percent Change: -9.13