Updates with analyst comment, market open prices

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

July 25 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow edged up in tepid trading on Friday as investors assessed President Donald Trump's latest comments on trade discussions with the European Union and his hints that a rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve was imminent.

Trump said the odds of a U.S.-EU trade deal were "50-50" and suggested after a meeting with Fed Chair Jerome Powell that a rate cut might be on the horizon.

A spate of upbeat second-quarter earnings also supported Wall Street's record run.

At 09:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 70.76 points, or 0.16%, to 44,764.67 - creeping up towards its December 4 record high. The S&P 500 .SPX added 10.70 points, or 0.17%, to 6,374.05, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 1.87 points, or 0.01%, to 21,059.83.

Expectations were rife the European bloc would soon sign an agreement with Washington, while U.S. negotiations with South Korea gathered momentum ahead of the August 1 deadline set for most countries as they scrambled to avoid Trump's steep import levies.

A wave of trade agreements including pacts with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines set all three major indexes on track for a strong weekly finish, if the gains hold.

Tariffs have had only a small impact on inflation and the economy has not shown many negative effects from shifts in trade policy, according to Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

Because of this, he said, even a slight increase in inflation would likely be enough to keep the Fed from cutting rates again.

Of the 168 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings as of Friday, 79.8% beat analyst expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG.

However, there were a few setbacks during the week. Heavyweights Tesla TSLA.O and General Motors GM.N stumbled and were on track for their steepest weekly declines in nearly two months if losses hold.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned of tougher quarters ahead amid shrinking U.S. EV subsidies, while General Motors took a hit after absorbing a $1.1-billion blow in its second-quarter earnings from Trump's tariffs.

Intel INTC.O dropped 9% after the chipmaker forecast steeper third-quarter losses than the Street expected and announced plans to slash jobs.

All eyes will be on the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week, with bets indicating that policymakers are likely to keep interest rates unchanged as they evaluate the impact of tariffs on inflation.

The central bank is under immense scrutiny from the White House, with President Trump leading a censure campaign against Chair Jerome Powell for not reducing borrowing costs, while often hinting that he would sack the top policymaker.

In a surprise move, Trump escalated the pressure by making a rare visit to the Fed headquarters on Thursday, where he criticized its $2.5-billion renovation project.

According to CME's FedWatch tool, traders now see a nearly 61.8% chance of a rate cut as soon as September.

Among other stocks, Newmont NEM.N added 7.4% after the gold miner surpassed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit.

Health insurer Centene CNC.N posted a surprise quarterly loss, but its shares gained 3%.

Paramount Global PARA.O rose 2.1% after U.S. regulators approved its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.

(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

((Nikhil.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com; pranav.kashyap@tr.com))