NEW YORK, Jan 9, 2026, 06:57 EST — Premarket
- U.S. index futures held near flat ahead of the December jobs report and a Supreme Court tariff decision.
- Thursday’s session ended mixed, with tech down and defense stocks firmer.
- Next week brings big-bank earnings and December CPI.
U.S. stock index futures were muted on Friday, keeping Wall Street on track for weekly gains as investors waited for the December jobs report and a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. At 5:36 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures were up 5.5 points (0.08%), Nasdaq 100 futures gained 40 points (0.16%) and Dow futures added 9 points (0.02%). Economists polled by Reuters forecast a 60,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls and a 4.5% unemployment rate, while traders price about 60 basis points (0.60 percentage point) of Federal Reserve easing in 2026.
The Labor Department is scheduled to publish its Employment Situation report at 8:30 a.m. ET. Nonfarm payrolls are the government’s monthly job count outside agriculture, and the release often drives early moves in stocks, bonds and the dollar.
After a 43-day government shutdown late last year scrambled parts of the data flow, investors have leaned hard on the calendar for clearer reads on growth and inflation. Next week brings big-bank earnings led by JPMorgan on Tuesday and December consumer price index data the same day; “the market may be underappreciating some of the events on the horizon that could likely produce higher volatility,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Investment Management. reuters.com
Other items on Friday’s U.S. calendar include the University of Michigan’s preliminary January consumer sentiment report at 10 a.m. ET. Survey director Joanne Hsu said December sentiment “confirmed its early month reading” as concerns over personal finances softened, even as buying conditions for durable goods stayed weak. ISR Scalable Computing Applications
In the regular session on Thursday, the S&P 500 finished up 0.01% at 6,921.45, while the Nasdaq fell 0.44% and the Dow rose 0.55%. Nvidia slid 2.2% and Broadcom dropped 3.2%, while defense names climbed after Trump called for a bigger 2027 military budget; “it’s become a ‘show me’ sector,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, referring to AI-linked stocks. reuters.com
General Motors added another corporate wrinkle late Thursday, saying it would take a $6 billion charge to unwind some electric-vehicle investments, with most tied to supplier settlements after it trimmed EV plans. GM shares fell 2% after hours after ending the session up 3.9% at $85.13. “GM’s lack of hybrid exposure could partially reverse recent market share gains,” CFRA equity analyst Garrett Nelson wrote. reuters.com
But the calm in futures can break fast. A payrolls surprise could swing Treasury yields and hit richly valued growth stocks, while a weak print can also rattle risk appetite if traders read it as something worse than “cooling.”
Beyond the data, investors will also listen for Fed signals: Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. ET, followed by Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin at 1:35 p.m. ET, according to Investing.com’s calendar. The market’s first test, though, is the jobs report.
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