New York, Jan 9, 2026, 06:25 (EST) — Premarket
- Dow-linked futures were little changed ahead of U.S. payrolls data due before the open
- Traders are also braced for a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trump’s tariffs
- The Dow closed up 0.55% on Thursday at 49,266.11, with tech weakness offset elsewhere
Dow futures held near flat on Friday in premarket trade, with investors sitting tight before U.S. jobs data and a Supreme Court decision on tariffs that could jar markets out of an early-year calm.
The Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report — the monthly count of jobs added outside farming — is expected to show slower hiring in December, and investors have been using every labor-market print they can get to game out the Federal Reserve’s next move after rate cuts late last year.
Tariffs are the other live wire. A ruling on the legality of Trump’s sweeping duties has been a focus for currency and rates markets as well as stocks, with traders wary that any surprise could ripple through inflation expectations and risk appetite.
At 5:36 a.m. ET, Dow E-mini futures — contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average — were up 9 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 E-minis rose 0.08% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 0.16%.
The Dow ended Thursday up 0.55% at 49,266.11. Apple slipped 0.5% and Microsoft fell 1.1%, while a rally in defense stocks followed Trump’s call for a $1.5 trillion U.S. military budget in 2027. “While AI is still hot, there are going to be winners and losers,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. reuters.com
With the Dow about 1.5% below 50,000 after Thursday’s close, traders also have an eye on that round number as a psychological marker, especially if the data and the court ruling both break in a market-friendly direction.
The risk is the opposite: a hotter-than-expected jobs report could push yields higher and revive worries that borrowing costs stay restrictive, while an unexpected outcome on tariffs could fuel a fresh bout of policy uncertainty. A weak report, meanwhile, can shift quickly from “rate cuts sooner” to “growth is cracking.”
Beyond Friday, the next tests stack up quickly. Big banks kick off fourth-quarter earnings next week, starting with JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday, and December consumer price index data is also due Tuesday — CPI is the main U.S. inflation gauge investors use to frame Fed policy. “The market may be underappreciating some of the events on the horizon,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Investment Management. reuters.com
