US stock futures made gains Thursday morning after the Dow snapped a three-session winning streak, as investors adapted to a stronger-than-expected January jobs report.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and S&P 500 (ES=F) rose around 0.3% while Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) climbed 0.2%. The muted futures action followed a choppy session on Wall Street, as all of the major indexes ended little changed.
In after-hours trading, Cisco Systems (CSCO) tumbled roughly 7% after missing profit expectations. McDonald’s (MCD) slipped modestly despite topping earnings estimates.
Markets initially climbed following the highly anticipated reveal of the January jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 last month, trouncing analyst forecasts, even as end-of-year reports for 2025 were revised to show a significantly slower pace of job growth last year.
However, the strength in hiring at the start of the year complicates expectations for Federal Reserve policy. A resilient labor market, paired with sticky inflation, could reduce the likelihood of near-term rate cuts, a key driver behind recent equity gains.
Attention now turns to Friday’s Consumer Price Index report, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. A softer reading will build hopes that price pressures are easing even as economic growth remains intact.
On the earnings front, Coinbase (COIN), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Rivian (RIVN) are highlights from the reports scheduled before the weekend.
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