The US markets ended higher on Friday on optimism that a number of trade deals will be worked out prior to President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline for the extension of his reciprocal tariffs. With only a few days left, several trading partners are trying to reach an agreement with the U.S. to avoid high tariff imposition on their exports to the U.S. from August 1. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday in Scotland after EU officials and diplomats said they expected to reach a framework trade deal this weekend. Trump said earlier that the odds of a U.S.-EU trade deal were 50-50.

All three major averages finished the week with gains. The 30-stock Dow posted a roughly 1.3% advance in the period, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1% and the broad market S&P 500 gained about 1.5%. Friday marked a fifth consecutive day of closing records for the S&P 500, with the index finishing above 6,300 for the first time on Monday. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, has seen four record closes this week, breaking the 21,000 threshold on Wednesday. The journey to all-time highs over this past week has been supported by a strong earnings season so far, including Alphabet’s better-than-expected earnings report. Verizon shares also jumped after the telecommunications company’s results surpassed expectations. Week to date, Alphabet is up 4% and Verizon is up 5%.

Dow Jones Industrial gained 208.01 points or 0.47 percent to 44,901.92, Nasdaq surged 50.36 points or 0.24 percent to 21,108.32 and S&P 500 rose 25.29 points or 0.4 percent to 6,388.64.