Global Markets, U.S. Futures Steady as Traders Await Judgment Day

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

Global markets and U.S. futures held largely steady as traders look ahead to U.S. payroll data for December and the U.S. Supreme Court's long-awaited decision on President Trump's tariff regime. Both will set traders' expectations of market movements over coming weeks and months, as analysts in a Wall Street Journal poll expect an addition of 73,000 jobs in December. Developments in Venezuela remain relevant to commodity and equity markets, as Trump prepares to meet U.S. oil executives later Friday. Ahead of that, oil and gold were both trading higher.

--U.S. futures were flat as traders await Friday's market-moving news. All of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq hover around par. The small-cap Russell 2000 notched a record close Thursday.

--Asian markets climbed, as gains for retailers and energy companies drove indexes higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.6% as a weaker yen relative to the dollar fueled strong earnings for retailers, according to Tickmill Group strategist Patrick Munnelly. Fast Retailing gained close to 11%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.3%, with clothing manufacturer Shenzhou International Group climbing 4.4%, while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite rose 0.9%

--European indexes opened higher as miners and energy companies gain across the continent. London's FTSE 100 gains 0.25%, led by Glencore which shot up 7.4% after announcing merger talks with Rio Tinto. The Italian FTSE MIB climbed, led by mining-services stocks, while the German DAX lifted 0.1%--after closing at another record high Thursday--as a slip in the country's financial stocks offsets gains for energy companies. Siemens gained 1.9%. Spain's IBEX 35 rose 0.35% as the country's bank stocks lift. The French CAC 40--up 0.7%--was boosted by gains for luxury stocks, which are major constituents in the index. Kering gained 2.4%, while Hermes and LVMH both rose around 1.5%.

--The dollar rose to a four-week high against a basket of currencies, continuing to gain after data Thursday showed U.S. jobless claims increased less than expected. The DXY dollar index rose 0.1% to a high of 99.035.

--U.S. Treasury yields were largely flat in Asian trade as investors await employment data. The two-year Treasury yield was up 0.9 basis point at 3.495%, while the 10-year yield edged lower 0.6 basis point to 4.176%, according to Tradeweb

--Eurozone government bond yields were little changed in early trade, after a week where there was total issuance of 66.3 billion euros from a variety of sovereigns via auctions and syndicated deals. The 10-year German Bund yield was unchanged at 2.830%, while the other 10-year eurozone yields are marginally lower.

--Bitcoin fell ahead of key U.S. jobs, with the prospect of a strong print lowering the probability of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut and, with it, appetite for risky assets. Bitcoin dropped 0.5% to $90,760, LSEG data shows. It remained above the key $90,000 level, however, having recovered after dropping to a six-day low of $89,245 on Thursday. Analysts at IG said there has been "some furious buying" of bitcoin at levels above $90,000. Weak jobs data would likely push bitcoin higher, they said.

--Oil prices extended gains in early trading as traders monitored geopolitical developments, with Brent crude and WTI both rising 0.9% to $62.57 a barrel and $58.33 a barrel, respectively. The benchmarks settled more than 3% higher in the previous session and are now on track for solid weekly gains, supported by Trump's warning that the U.S. would hit Iran "very hard" if the government there violently suppresses protesters. Sentiment was further lifted by a U.S. congressional bill that would allow for hefty sanctions against buyers of sanctioned Russian oil. Meanwhile, markets await a Friday meeting between Trump and American oil executives to discuss investments in Venezuela's oil sector.

--Gold prices rose in early trading. Futures in New York were up 0.4% to $4,478 a troy ounce and are headed for a weekly gain of 3.4%.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 09, 2026 04:36 ET (09:36 GMT)