Wall St rises after soft jobs report; tariff ruling in spotlight

Wall Street’s main indexes edged up on Friday after a weaker-than-expected jobs report kept bets on U.S. interest-rate cuts intact, while attention shifted to an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trump’s

tariffs.

A Labor Department report showed nonfarm payrolls increased 50,000 in December, compared with an estimated 60,000 rise, according to economists polled by Reuters. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, slightly below the expected 4.5%.

Traders boosted bets on a pause in interest rate cuts in January following the report. They are still pricing in about 54 basis points of easing in 2026, according to data compiled by LSEG.

“It is now difficult to argue that the labour market is collapsing and in urgent need of monetary support,” said Seema Shah, Chief Global Strategist, Principal Asset Management.

“However, the picture remains far from clear: payroll growth undershot expectations, and downward revisions to prior months have pushed the three-month moving average into negative territory.”

Wall St mixed as tech retreats, defense firms gain

All major S&P sectors were trading in the green, with the utilities index leading gains with a 1.5% jump. TD Cowen initiated coverage of several utilities stocks, including Constellation Energy and Entergy. Shares of

those companies rose 4% and 2%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the top court in the U.S. is expected to deliver a ruling on the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs as early as Friday. Traders are anticipating heightened volatility across financial markets if the court strikes them down. Justices have previously voiced skepticism about Trump’s authority to impose the tariffs.

Striking down tariffs could impact government revenue, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that he was more worried about the loss of Trump’s leverage than revenue.

At 09:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153.49 points, or 0.31%, to 49,419.60, the S&P 500 gained 25.42 points, or 0.37%, to 6,946.88 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 88.49 points, or 0.38%, to 23,568.50.

All three indexes are set for weekly gains in the first full trading week of 2026, with the Dow on track for its biggest weekly gain since the last week of November.

Intel gained 2.6% after Trump said he had a “great meeting” with the chipmaker’s chief executive officer, Lip-Bu Tan.

General Motors shares slipped 2.2% after the automaker said on Thursday it would take a $6 billion charge to unwind some electric-vehicle investments.

Shares of mortgage lenders rose a day after Trump said he is ordering his representatives to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down housing costs.

LoanDepot surged 19%, Rocket Companies gained 6.1% and Opendoor Technologies rose 12.7%.

Vistra jumped 13% after Meta Platforms struck 20-year agreements to buy power from the company’s nuclear plants.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.76-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.32-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 70 new highs and 10 new lows.