Futures-options traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange’s NYSE American (AMEX) in New York City, U.S., Jan. 7, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. equity futures rose on Friday following the release of the latest jobs report and ahead of a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs.
S&P 500 futures climbed 0.4%, as did Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 170 points, or 0.3%.
Stock futures took a leg higher after the December jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls increasing by 50,000 last month, less than the 73,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated. That data, though slightly weaker than expected, showed a U.S. economy that’s still trudging along, with investors anticipating that growth will ramp up.
Additionally, the unemployment rate inched down to 4.4%, while economists had forecast 4.5%. Traders took that as a sign that improvement in the economy would happen soon.
“The December jobs release provided the first clean read on the labor market since the government shutdown ended but did little to provide clarity about the state of the labor market given its mixed reading,” said Jeff Schulze, head of economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments. “This outcome should keep the Fed on hold for now, although the committee will remain vigilant for signs of further labor softening.”
Investors are now awaiting a potential Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which could have an impact on trade policy and the nation’s fiscal situation. To be sure, it’s uncertain if the high court will make its ruling Friday.
“There’s a little bit of wait-and-see approach from the companies before they start restocking on what happens to tariffs,” said Wells Fargo chief equity strategist Ohsung Kwon on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” Thursday. “We have the ruling potentially tomorrow. I think after that, the companies might start to restock again, and that’s gonna kickstart the manufacturing cycle.”
Separately, investors will watch for developments on Trump’s directive “to his Representatives” to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, which he claimed will drive rates and monthly payments down.
In regular trading Thursday, investors rotated away from tech stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed the day lower by 0.4%, dragged down by losses in Nvidia, Palantir and Broadcom. The 30-stock Dow added 270 points, or about 0.6%. The S&P 500 ended the session marginally higher.
Stocks remain on track for a winning week. The S&P 500 is up about 0.9% week to date, while the Dow and Nasdaq have jumped roughly 1.8% and 1.1%, respectively.