US pre-open: Markets subdued ahead of jobs data
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Friday 09 Jan 2026
(Sharecast News) - US stock futures were pointing to a subdued start on Wall Street on Friday as investors refrained from taking on too much risk ahead of an eagerly anticipated December jobs report.
By 1134 GMT, Dow futures were trading flat while the S&P 500 was up just 0.1%, with both indices set to tread water following their record highs registered on Tuesday. Nasdaq futures, meanwhile, were up 0.2%.
Friday's jobs data, due out at 1330 GMT, is expected to show that the US economy added 60,000 non-farm payrolls last month, down from 64,000 in November, while the year-on-year increase in average hourly earnings is tipped to have risen to 3.6% from 3.5%. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is predicted to have fallen to 4.5% from a four-year high of 4.6%.
"Risks for this report skew hawkish. Residual seasonality around the holiday season tends to create upside surprises for December payrolls. Meanwhile, a reversal of government shutdown effects could push the UE rate down further," said analysts at TD Securities in a note.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said that a jobs gain of over 85,000 "would suggest that the US labour market is resilient and may not have needed the 75bps of Fed rate cuts last year". She added: "This could lead to a recalibration lower in interest rate expectations, currently the Fed Fund Futures market is pricing in two rate cuts for next year. It may also push up Treasury yields, which have been stable since the start of this year."
Also on tap on Friday are building permits and housing starts figures for September (delayed because of the government shutdown), along with the closely watched consumer sentiment report from the University of Michigan.
Also on investors' minds was the potential for a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of Donald Trump's trade tariffs, which could be announced as soon as Friday, though it is unclear when the decision will be revealed. Reports suggest it could still take weeks for the court to announce its decision.
Nvidia futures were on the rise after a stronger-than-expected sales update from supplier TSMC, which reported a 20.4% year-on-year increase in revenues for December amid soaring demand for AI chips. Broadcom and AMD futures were also higher.
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