New York, January 8, 2026, 10:13 EST — Regular session
- The Dow was up about 0.3% in morning trade, rebounding after Wednesday’s late pullback from fresh highs.
- Traders weighed new labor-market data and fresh defense-budget comments from President Donald Trump.
- Focus turns to Friday’s U.S. jobs report, a key test for rate-cut bets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 129 points, or 0.3%, at 49,124.87 by mid-morning in New York. It has traded between 48,792 and 49,165 so far and sits about 1% below a recent peak near 49,621. 1
The move matters because the index has been swinging on a mix of policy headlines and labor data, with investors trying to pin down whether the Federal Reserve can cut rates as quickly as markets have hoped. After a sharp run to new highs, even small surprises are landing harder.
Data on Thursday did not settle the argument. Weekly jobless claims rose to 208,000, while third-quarter productivity rose at a 4.9% pace and unit labor costs — a gauge of labor cost per unit of output — fell 1.9%, the Labor Department reported. Economists polled by Reuters expect the December nonfarm payrolls report — the government’s monthly jobs tally — to show 60,000 jobs added, and the unemployment rate easing to 4.5%. Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said “technology has been pivoting to both developing and implementing artificial intelligence” faster than other industries. 2
Defense shares were a separate driver early in the session after Trump wrote on Truth Social that the 2027 military budget should be $1.5 trillion. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and RTX were all up at least 3.5% in premarket trading, after falling a day earlier when Trump said he would not permit dividends or buybacks for defense companies until production problems are fixed. 3
Wednesday’s late reversal is still hanging over the tape. The Dow ended down 0.94% after earlier record highs, dragged by declines in JPMorgan and other financials, while Nvidia, Microsoft and Alphabet helped lift the Nasdaq. “Investors have come into 2026 with a similar playbook to last year: Buy tech and forget about it,” Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, said. 4
But that playbook is brittle. A stronger-than-expected jobs number — or hotter wage growth inside it — could revive fears that rates stay restrictive for longer, pushing bond yields up and pressuring stocks that have already been priced for a friendlier Fed.
For now, the Dow is back above 49,000, but the day’s range shows how quickly conviction fades and returns. Traders are watching whether the index can hold those gains into the afternoon after Wednesday’s fast turn lower.
Next up is the Employment Situation report on Friday (08:30 a.m. ET), followed by December consumer price inflation on Tuesday, January 13 — both potential catalysts for rate expectations and equity positioning. 5
