Wall Street inches higher in premarket trading ahead of the government's January jobs report
NYSE President Lynn Martin wears a "DOW 50,000" cap to watch closing bell ceremonies as the Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 50,000 level for the first time, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Credit: AP/Richard Drew
U.S. markets were barely higher in cautious premarket trading Wednesday ahead of an update on U.S. employment that is expected to confirm a still-sluggish job market.
Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were all up around 0.1% before the bell.
Until the January jobs report is released, markets will be focused on the latest corporate earnings reports, which so far have been mixed.
Shares of Mattel, the maker of Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price toys, fell more than 26% after it closed out a rough year by missing Wall Street's sales and profit targets. Mattel reported 2025 net income of $398 million, a decline of $144 million from the previous year. Its guidance for 2026 also disappointed investors.
Mattel's latest results come just a day after rival toymaker Hasbro saw its shares climb 7.5% after topping analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue in its latest quarter.
Mobile stock trading platform Robinhood Markets slid 7.8% after it hit profit targets but fell short on analysts' revenue expectations as cryptocurrency trading volumes fell sharply.
Ford Motor Co. rose 1.7% after it missed profit targets but beat revenue forecasts. The automaker, which recently announced that it would be drastically scaling back EV production, issued 2026 guidance for one measure of profit that was largely in-line with previous forecasts.
NYSE President Lynn Martin wears a "DOW 50,000" cap to watch closing bell ceremonies as the Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 50,000 level for the first time, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Credit: AP/Richard Drew
Later Wednesday morning, the Labor Department is expected by analysts to report that the U.S. economy added 75,000 jobs last month. That would be an improvement over December’s 50,000, but not reflective of strong economic growth and well short of the hiring boom of just a couple of years ago.
Moreover, the January numbers are likely to be overshadowed by Labor Department revisions that will sharply reduce 2025 job creation — and might even wipe it out altogether.
Continued weakening in the labor market could push the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate at its March meeting, even as inflation remains above its 2% target.
Elsewhere, in Europe at midday, Germany's DAX lost 0.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris also shed 0.1% and Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%.
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Credit: AP/Ahn Young-joon
Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.
Chinese markets crept higher, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong up 0.3% at 27,266.38. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.1% to 4,131.98.
In South Korea, the Kospi extended its gains, rising 1% to 5,354.49.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.7% to 9,014.80, while Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1.6%.
India's Sensex edged 0.1% lower.
In energy trading Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.36 to $65.32 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed $1.41 to $70.21 per barrel.
The price of gold rose 1.6% while silver was up 6.3%.
Bitcoin lost 2.5% to 67,091.34.
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