Futures and options traders work on the NYSE American (AMEX) floor of the New York Stock Exchange on January 7, 2026 in New York City, USA.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Stock futures were mostly flat Thursday night ahead of key jobs data and a possible U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs.
futures tied to Dow Jones Industrial Average Added 7 points. S&P500 futures Hovering near the flat line, Nasdaq 100 futures It was slightly lower.
Investors are waiting for two important triggers on Friday. First, the Supreme Court could rule on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, potentially affecting trade policy and the country’s fiscal situation.
“Companies are taking a bit of a wait-and-see attitude as to what the tariffs are going to be before they start replenishing,” Oson Kwon, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo, said Thursday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” “The verdict will probably be handed down tomorrow. After that, I think companies will start restocking their inventory again and that will start the manufacturing cycle.”
Second, the December employment report, which will be released on Friday morning, is expected to show modest improvement. Nonfarm payrolls were likely to increase by 73,000 people last month, and the unemployment rate inched to 4.5%, according to a Dow Jones survey of economists.
Separately, investors will be watching for developments in President Trump’s directive to members of Congress to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds. He claimed this would lower interest rates and monthly payments.
In regular trading Thursday, investors moved away from tech stocks. High-tech oriented Nasdaq Composite The stock ended the day 0.4% lower, dragged down by losses. Nvidia, Palantir and broadcom. 30 shares Dow Added 270 points, or about 0.6%. of S&P500 I finished the session with a slight difference.
Stocks remain on track for another strong week. The S&P 500 is up about 0.9% week to date, while the Dow and Nasdaq are up about 1.8% and 1.1%, respectively.
