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postUS stocks rose on Friday as investors assessed the December jobs report and braced for a possible Supreme Court ruling on President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained roughly 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was 0.1% higher, with stocks broadly upbeat after a mixed session on Thursday. All three major indexes remain on pace to close the first full week of 2026 higher.
Markets on Friday are focused on two potential catalysts: the December jobs report and the chance of a decision from the Supreme Court on the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
The nonfarm payrolls report, which returned to its normal cadence following disruptions from the government shutdown, showed the US added 50,000 jobs in December. Payroll growth fell short of economists’ expectations of about 70,000 positions added, sealing bets that the Federal Reserve will stand pat on interest rates in less than three weeks.
The unemployment rate declined to 4.4%, from 4.6% in November, carrying 2025’s labor market theme of a “no-hire, no-fire” economy through the end of the year.
Wall Street is now on alert for a tariffs ruling from the Supreme Court, which has set Friday as an opinion day. It’s the first chance for a decision on whether Trump acted properly by invoking a law meant for national emergencies when imposing global duties. Its findings carry huge implications for US economic strategy and could restructure global trade if the levies are found to be unlawful.
Meanwhile, investors are weighing the latest developments in the US moves on Venezuela. Trump said he has canceled a second wave of attacks in the country, citing cooperation over US plans to rebuild its crumbling energy infrastructure. The White House has called a meeting with global oil majors on Friday to discuss the fate of Venezuela’s huge reserves.
On the home front, Trump said he has directed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities, in a bid to lower mortgage rates and address growing affordability concerns. Markets are assessing the potential fallout, given details around that plan remain unclear.
LIVE 16 updates
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Consumer sentiment hits highest level since September
Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:
Read more here.
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Intel stock jumps as Trump praises CEO
Intel (INTC) shares soared again on Friday, rising more than 8% after President Trump praised CEO Lip-Bu Tan on his social media platform.
“I just finished a great meeting with the very successful Intel CEO, Lip-Bu Tan,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday after the market close. “The United States Government is proud to be a Shareholder of Intel…We made a GREAT Deal, and so did Intel.”
The US government took a roughly 10% stake in Intel, the only US-based large scale, leading edge chip manufacturer in August.
Trump had briefly sparred with Tan this summer, calling for his resignation on social media due to his business ties to China, but the president reversed his stance after an apparently successful meeting with the executive.
Though the investment from the US government has been a positive catalyst for Intel shares, some experts criticize the national security and ethical implication of the federal government’s growing entanglement with corporate America.
Trump continued on Friday: “Our Country is determined to bring leading edge Chip Manufacturing back to America, and that is exactly what is happening!!!”
Intel stock surged earlier this week following the chipmaker’s official release of its Core Ultra Series 3 chips at CES in Las Vegas.
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Oklo soars after inking deal with Meta
Oklo (OKLO) shares jumped more than 13% Friday as small nuclear reactor maker — formerly chaired by OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) CEO Sam Altman — inked its first major commercial deal with Meta (META).
Oklo has agreed to supply Meta with 1.2 gigawatts of power from its yet-to-be-built small modular reactors in Ohio. Oklo is still in the process of obtaining a license from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“Meta’s funding commitment in support of early procurement and development activity is a major step in moving advanced nuclear forward,” said Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte in a statement Friday.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote: “We believe this news is incrementally positive for the entire nuclear energy industry, including OKLO, as it reaffirms the commitment from hyperscalers to start leveraging new energy sources to fuel the AI Revolution with power being the biggest headwind to the industry.”
Meta also on Friday announced deals with nuclear energy providers Vistra (VST) and TerraPower (founded by Bill Gates). Vistra shares soared nearly 14%, while Meta climbed fractionally.
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Dow, S&P 500 tick up at the open
US stocks tilted mostly higher on Friday at the market open as investors digested the December jobs report and looked to a potential Supreme Court decision on President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved nearly 0.2% higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3% after a mixed session on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was roughly flat.
All three major indexes are on track to close out the first full trading week of 2026 at least 1% higher.
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Stock futures tick higher as bets the Fed will hold rates steady in January increase
Stock futures and Treasurys were little changed following the closely watched December jobs report, which showed fewer jobs added than expected but also that the unemployment rate ticked lower.
Futures for the S&P 500 (ES=F), Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) drifted slightly higher to trade above 0.3% following the Labor Department’s release.
The 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) was flat at 4.18%, while the 30-year yield (^TYX) inched lower to 4.84%.
Bets that the Federal Reserve would hold interest rates steady at its meeting on Jan. 27-28 increased following the report. Traders are now pricing in a 97% chance of no rate cuts, up from 88% on Thursday, according to CMEGroup’s FedWatch.
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Unemployment rate eases, but US economy adds fewer jobs than expected in December
The US unemployment rate dipped to 4.4% in December from 4.5% in the previous month and was below the 4.5% expected by economists tracked by Bloomberg, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report Friday.
At the same time, the US economy added fewer jobs than expected during the last month of 2025, posting an uptick of 50,000 jobs, below the 70,000 expected by economists and 56,000 in November.
Initial data from November showed the unemployment reaching 4.6%, its highest level in more than four years. That figure was revised down to 4.5% on Friday. The November report had also shown the economy adding 64,000 jobs during that month, but that number was lowered to 56,000 in Friday’s release.
Read more here.
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Trending stocks in premarket trading: Opendoor, General Motors, Oklo, Johnson & Johnson
Here’s a look at some trending stocks ahead of the opening bell:
Opendoor (OPEN), Rocket Companies (RKT): Shares of the home ibuyer and mortgage company rose 9% and 5%, respectively, after President Trump posted on social media Thursday, instructing his “representatives” to buy $200 million in mortgage bonds, aimed at bringing down housing costs.
General Motors (GM): The automaker’s stock dropped nearly 2% after the company said in a Thursday SEC filing it would take an additional $6 billion charge related to its EV business. The news came after GM reported another strong year of overall sales, but the loss of EV tax credits and softer demand for electric cars hampered that segment in 2025.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): The drugmaker said Thursday it struck a deal with the Trump administration to lower drug prices in exchange for tariff relief. As part of the deal, Johnson & Johnson said it will participate in the TrumpRx.gov discount drug platform. The company also expects to increase its investments in US manufacturing in 2026. The stock was flat on Friday morning.
Vistra (VST), Oklo (OKLO): The nuclear energy companies soared 16% and 18%, respectively, after they reached a deal with Meta (META) to provide power for the tech giant’s data centers. Scroll down to read more about the deal from my colleague, Karen Friar.
Alibaba (BABA): US-listed shares of the Chinese internet company jumped as much as 4.8% but then fell 2.5% in premarket trading after reports surfaced that China would allow the import of some of Nvidia’s (NVDA) H200 AI chips. Alibaba has spent profusely on AI models, and Nvidia’s chips would help it build its models to compete with US firms like OpenAI (OPAI.PVT); however, some on Wall Street have argued that this spending could drag on profitability at a time when its e-commerce business may be softening.
Check out more active stocks here.
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Revolution Medicines soars as Merck in talks to buy biotech
Revolution Medicines (RVMD) stock rose 14% in Friday’s premarket, on the heels of a Financial Times report that the cancer drugmaker is in talks to be acquired by US pharma giant Merck (MRK).
The FT reports:
Read more here.
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Meta seals nuclear power deals to fuel AI push, lifting Oklo and Vistra shares
Shares of Vistra (VST) and Oklo (OKLO) surged before the bell after Meta (META) struck deals with the nuclear energy companies to fuel its AI data center build-out.
Vistra jumped around 14%, while Oklo soared about 18% on news of Meta’s electricity deal spree, which will make it the biggest buyer of nuclear power among its hyperscaler peers.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Productivity can be another name for a rough job market
Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban writes:
Read more here in the takeaway from today’s Morning Brief.
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Trump says he has ‘cancelled’ plans for second wave of attacks on Venezuela
President Trump said on Friday that he has “cancelled” plans for a second wave of attacks on Venezuela, crediting cooperation by the country’s interim government for the move.
In a social media post, Trump pointed to the release of several “political prisoners” by the authorities that replaced the regime of President Maduro, captured last week by a US military raid in Caracas. He also noted progress on plans to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure to be controlled by the US.
“The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes.”
Trump said at least $100 billion will be invested by oil majors in the Venezuela rebuilding, though questions are emerging as to the implications for US energy companies and crude prices.
Oil prices pared gains as investors weighed Trump’s comments and unrest in Iran, against a backdrop of a looming glut. Brent (BZ=F) briefly dipped below $62 a barrel after its biggest gain since October a day earlier, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) also retraced some gains.
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Final jobs report for 2025 set for release on Friday: What to watch
The December nonfarm-payrolls report lands on Friday, as markets try to make sense of a cooling labor market that has flashed some mixed signals this week.
Yahoo Finance’s Emma Ockerman reports:
Read more here.
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Rio Tinto and Glencore in talks to form world’s biggest miner
Shares of Glencore (GLEN.L, GLNCY) rose over 8% in London and on Wall Street amid reports that it has held talks with Rio Tinto (RIO, RIO.L) for a potential combination of some or all of their businesses.
The deal, which comes after earlier talks collapsed about a year ago, could create the world’s biggest mining company with a combined value of over $200 billion.
Rio Tinto’s stock fell over 2% as the companies confirmed the discussions.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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TSM beats Q4 revenue predictions with 20% increase over last year
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
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Oil on track for weekly gain with Iran and Venezuela in focus
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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xAI reports quarterly loss of $1.46 billion
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
