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Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures pause as Wall Street braces for jobs report

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US stock futures moved higher in pre-market trading on Wednesday after data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the US added 130,000 jobs in January, shifting expectations for potential interest-rate cuts. The unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.3% from 4.4%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) picked up roughly 0.4%, coming off a third straight record close. Moving similarly, contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) also gained roughly 0.4%.

Investor attention coming into Wednesday was focused on the “Super Bowl of jobs reports” — the delayed January nonfarm-payrolls update. After a bruising recent run of labor market data, a reading far above expectations is bolstering market performance.

However, the bullish January data is counterbalanced by heavy revisions to 2025 numbers, which brought the year’s payrolls growth at 184,000, down from the previously reported 584,000 additions.

While estimates varied wildly, economists surveyed by Bloomberg had projected a gain of about 68,000 jobs in January in the Bureau of Labor Statistics release scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET. The unemployment rate was expected to hold at 4.4%.

White House officials had downplayed the importance of the report to gauging economic health. “We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like,” trade counselor Peter Navarro told Fox News.

The surprise is feeding into bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts, which had been bolstered by soft December retail data that revealed fresh signs of weakness in the economy. Markets are now pricing in 47.2% odds of lower rates by June, as odds on the Fed standing pat in coming months tick lower.

Earnings season could provide further insight into the American consumer as well as Corporate America, with McDonald’s (MCD) and Kraft Heinz (KHC) results due before the bell. After the market close, Cisco’s (CSCO) quarterly report comes as the tech stalwart takes on Nvidia (NVDA) for Big Tech spending with a new AI networking chip.

LIVE 10 updates

  • Jake Conley

    US added 130,000 jobs in January, 2025 payrolls revised down by 400,000

    The US added 130,000 jobs in January, according to official data released Wednesday morning, far exceeding consensus expectations of 65,000 jobs added for the month.

    In addition to the January numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised its total 2025 payrolls figure down to 184,000 jobs added for the year, far below the previously published 584,000 additions, which already marked the weakest increase since 2020, according to Bloomberg.

    The unemployment rate was little changed in January, falling to 4.3% against expectations of it holding steady at 4.4%.

    The data came as a surprise to the upside after market watchers had looked for a possible steep drop in employment numbers. National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said earlier in the week that smaller job gains may be explained by a “productivity boom.”

    Private data released last week indicated the labor market remained bruising in January for out-of-work Americans, with little in the way of new jobs.

    The government’s monthly employment situation report, which includes both the unemployment rate and payroll growth, was meant to be published last Friday before it was delayed by the brief partial government shutdown.

    That left market watchers and economists waiting a few extra days for what Bank of America Global Research dubbed the “Super Bowl of jobs reports” and economist Michael Madowitz of the Roosevelt Institute called #ConspiracyTheoryJobsday.

  • Jenny McCall

    Shopify forecasts quarterly revenue above estimates on strong demand

    Shopify (SHOP) stock rose 11% before the bell on Wednesday after forecasting quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates.

    Reuters reports:

    Read more here.

  • Brooke DiPalma

    Kraft Heinz pauses plans to split into 2 companies

    Kraft Heinz (KHC) announced on Tuesday that it would pause its spin-off plans, with the company’s new CEO, Steve Cahillane, saying that its “challenges are fixable and within our control.”

    The company, which was set to spin off its meal business, Global Taste Elevation Co., and grocery business North American Grocery Co., plans to invest $600 million across marketing, sales, research and development, and pricing.

    “We are confident in the opportunity ahead and believe this investment will accelerate our return to profitable growth,” said Steve Cahillane, who became CEO on Jan. 1 and previously led Kellanova, which successfully split from the Kellogg Company in 2023.

    Shares fell more than 6% in premarket trading.

    In its fourth quarter results, the company reported adjusted earnings of $0.67, a beat compared to the expected $0.61, per Bloomberg consensus data. Revenue came in slightly lower at $6.35 billion, compared with the $6.37 billion expected.

    Prices increased 0.5%, slightly below expectations of a 0.79% increase.

    For 2026, the company expects organic net sales to be down 1.5% to 3.5%. Wall Street expected 2026 annual organic revenue to be down 0.56%. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.98 to $2.10, whereas Wall Street forecast $2.50.

  • Here it comes: The ‘Super Bowl of jobs reports’

    The Labor Department will publish much-anticipated jobs data for January on Wednesday morning, as well as sweeping revisions to 2025 numbers that could show far fewer new positions were added to the US economy than previously thought.

    Yahoo Finance’s Emma Ockerman lays out what to watch:

    Read more here.

  • Ford reports Q4 profit miss, $8 billion net loss for year amid $900 million tariff hit

    Ford’s stock inched higher before the bell as investors assessed its earnings report.

    Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Premarket trending tickers: Humana, Moderna, Palantir

    Humana (HUM) stock fell 7% before the bell on Wednesday after forecasting annual profit below analysts’ estimates. The health insurer has been affected by lower quality ratings for its Medicare Advantage plans for older adults.

    Moderna (MRNA) stock sank 10% during premarket hours on Wednesday after the FDA refused to review its application to sell a new flu vaccine.

    Palantir (PLTR) stock dipped lower on Wednesday. The data analytics company’s shares have fallen more than 20% over the past month.

  • Stocks moving after earnings: Robinhood, Lyft, Mattel, Cloudflare

    Here’s a look at some stocks trending on Yahoo Finance following their after-hours earnings reports:

    Read more coverage of corporate earnings here.

  • Wall Street’s new trade is dumping any stock in AI’s crosshairs

    On Wall Street, rising AI fears keep pummeling shares of companies at risk of being caught on the wrong side of it all, from small software makers to big wealth-management firms, per Bloomberg.

    A tax-strategy took from start-up Altruist spurred the latest sell-off on Tuesday, hitting the likes of Charles Schwab and Raymond James. Some of the stocks suffered their deepest fall since the April trade-war market meltdown.

    Bloomberg reports:

    Read more here.

  • Highly invested Bitcoin holders double down as price falls

    Bloomberg reports:

    Read more here.

  • Moderna stock plunges after FDA refuses to review influenza vaccine application

    Reuters reports:

    Read more here.