S&P 500, Nasdaq up 0.23% as investors await latest earnings

Investors gathered on Friday to await developments in the debt-ceiling deliberations in Washington and digested the latest corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 GSPC futures rose 0.23%, while the DJI DJI was up 60 points, or 0.18%. Those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite IXIC rose 0.39%.

Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 entered Friday on track to close the week lower after the debt-ceiling discussions slightly weighed on markets throughout the week. On Friday morning, Reuters reported that President Joe Biden and the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, are discussing a deal to extend the government's debt ceiling for two years.

Negotiators appear to be closing in on an agreement, said Goldman Sachs' economic research team led by Jan Hatzius, in a note to clients on Thursday night.

While it is difficult to predict when an announcement could come, we think the odds are highest that a deal is announced late Friday May 26 or on Saturday May 27 If so, it would likely allow a House vote late Tuesday May 30 or Wednesday May 31.

On Thursday, the Nasdaq surged 1.7%, as Nvidia's blowout quarter sent the chip giant's stock soaring more than 24%. On Friday, earnings remained sluggish, as well as the stock market.

Marvell Technology MRVL shares rose more than 16% in pre-market trading, as the chipmaker joined Nvidia in sharing positive artificial intelligence news. Marvell said its revenue from AI could double in the next year.

Gap GPS's stock rose more than 13% in morning trading after the apparel company posted a surprise profit late Thursday. Ulta Beauty ULTA shares were down in pre-market trading on Friday after the company warned of slowing growth trends, even though the beauty store chain beat Wall Street's earnings and earnings per share expectations for the first quarter.

category growth is healthy but moderating as we lap two years of unprecedented growth. As category growth normalizes, promotional activity is increasing. Dave Kimbell, Ulta's CEO, said on the earnings call that the company had a pre-tax profit of $1 billion.

The PCE price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, will be released Friday. Fresh data on personal income and spending, as well as a final reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index, are also expected on Friday.