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 a slightly weakening but stable labor market. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 50,000 last month, less than the 73,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated. The unemployment rate inched down to 4.4%. Economists had forecast 4.5%.
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 premarket trading, shares of Generac advanced more than 2% after the name was upgraded to outperform at Baird, with the firm saying that the company has a number of “unique” catalysts ahead, including the opportunity presented from commercial and industrial diesel generator sets. That marks its second upgrade in wo days, as Citi upgraded it to buy on Thursday.
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.