A healthy crop of earnings helped European stocks bust out of a four-day losing streak on Thursday, Wall Street was watching Netflix and the dollar bounced after U.S. President Donald Trump quashed talk he was about to fire Fed head Jerome Powell.

PepsiCo jumped 7.5% after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The drink and snack giant also stood by its financial forecasts given in April, which projected lower full-year profit than previous forecasts due to increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending.

This past April, when President Donald Trump started flirting with the notion of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, stocks and the dollar tumbled because investors worried that even talking about such a move crossed a red line.

Consumers' inflation expectations, by some measures, are also the highest in decades. Inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for over four years, and the prospect of a dovish Fed under the stewardship of a new Trump-friendly Chair could keep it that way.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday said the agency’s renovation of its office complex in Washington complies with plans approved by a local commission, disputing a White House suggestion that they had violated the law by deviating from those plans.

What Happened in Markets Today The debate on the Fed continued. Former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, a potential nominee to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, said on CNBC that the Fed should stay independent.

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Friday as still-strong U.S. economic data and robust corporate earnings offset tariff worries, while the yen headed toward a second successive week of loss ahead of Japan's upper house election.

Wall Street's main indexes rose slightly, buoyed by strong results from PepsiCo and positive economic data. Retail sales exceeded expectations and job growth remained steady. Despite potential tariff impacts,

Many on Wall Street have privately worried that political pressure will undermine the Federal Reserve’s credibility.

The Nasdaq rose to a record high on Thursday, leading a cautious climb across Wall Street's major indexes, as strong economic data lifted spirits and airline stocks took off on United Airlines' results.