Helping to support the fervor has been strong profit reports from Entergy and other big U.S. businesses. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to deliver nearly 17% growth in their earnings per share for the final three months of 2024, compared with a year earlier. That would be the best growth since 2021, according to FactSet.

Airbnb climbed 14.4% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected as customers booked more nights on its platform. Wynn Resorts jumped 10.4% after likewise topping earnings expectations, thanks in part to strength for its Las Vegas operations.

Wall Street is flirting with a record on Friday, as U.S. stock indexes drift following some mixed profit reports from big companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% in afternoon trading, a day after rallying within 0.

U.S. stocks rallied to the brink of a record after more companies reported fatter profits than expected. The S&P 500 rose 1% Thursday.