On Friday, Wall Street indexes hugged the flatline after the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite notched new record highs in the previous session. 

Major averages are set to close up after a week of trading and extend the rally to the fifth week in a row. 

The S&P 500 index edged up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite inched higher 0.2% as investors reviewed the latest batch of earnings. 

On Friday, investors reacted to earnings from Intel, Union Pacific, Deckers Brands, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Ameriprise Financial.

The Federal Communications Commission approved the $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance Media. 

The FCC approved the deal after Paramount Global settled a lawsuit with Donald Trump for $16 million, prompting a strong response from the lone Democrat Commissioner Anna Gomez.

"In an unprecedented move, this once-independent FCC used its vast power to pressure Paramount to broker a private legal settlement and further erode press freedom," said Gomez. 

"Once again, this agency is undermining legitimate efforts to combat discrimination and expand opportunity by overstepping its authority and intervening in employment matters reserved for other government entities with proper jurisdiction on these issues," added Gomez.

U.S. Stock Movers 

Intel Corp. declined 7.5% to $20.93, and the company's second-quarter sales increase failed to impress investors. 

The advanced chipmaker is struggling to retain its market share in its core business amid competition from AMD, and the company has still not announced its AI chip pipeline of products. 

Moreover, the capital-intensive foundry business is struggling to expand amid stiff domestic competition from TSMC.

Deckers Brands jumped 13.1% to $118.89, and the shoe company reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings of 93 cents per share on revenue of $965 million. 

Paramount Global increased 2.1% to $23.65 after the Federal Communications Commission approved the purchase of the company by Skydance Media for $8 billion. 

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. advanced 1.4% to $116.86 after the company's fiscal first-quarter earnings surpassed market expectations. 

The company reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share of $1.48 on lighter-than-estimated revenue of $2.92 billion. 

Union Pacific Corp. edged up 0.6% to $221.77 after the railroad company delivered better-than-expected quarterly earnings amid a rebound in freight revenue. 

Ameriprise Financial edged up 0.01% to $517.0, and the financial advisory company announced a cash dividend of $1.60 per share. 

Revenue in the second quarter increased 4% to $4.4 billion from $4.2 billion, net income soared 28% to $1.1 billion from $829 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $10.73 from $8.02 a year ago.