Thursday kicked off with U.S. stock futures in the red, continuing the cautious mood from Wednesday's mixed session where only the Nasdaq 100 managed to close higher. It's the kind of market where investors are glancing nervously at their calendars, knowing that Friday could bring some serious headline risk.

And what a Friday it promises to be. The Supreme Court is scheduled for an Opinion Day and could potentially rule on the tariffs President Donald Trump has slapped on other countries. That's the kind of decision that can move markets in a hurry. Add to that the December jobs report, also dropping Friday, and you've got a setup where traders might be forgiven for wanting to sit on their hands until they see what shakes out.

Meanwhile, bond markets are doing their thing. The 10-year Treasury bond was yielding 4.15%, while the two-year sat at 3.47%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in an 88.4% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates right where they are when they meet in January. Translation: nobody expects the Fed to surprise anyone next month.

The major ETFs that track the big indices were feeling the pressure in premarket trading. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.20% at $688.19, while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which follows the Nasdaq 100, declined 0.29% to $622.35.

Individual Stocks Making Big Moves

AZZ Inc. Rides Earnings Beat Higher

AZZ Inc. (AZZ) was up 2.8% in premarket trading Thursday after delivering earnings results for the third quarter that topped expectations. When you beat the Street's numbers, the market tends to reward you, and AZZ was getting that reward in early trading.

The stock maintains a stronger price trend across short, medium, and long-term timeframes, with a solid quality ranking to boot. That's the kind of technical setup that tends to attract momentum-focused investors.

Immuneering Takes a Beating on Trial Data

Immuneering Corp. (IMRX) shares got absolutely hammered, tumbling 22.93% after the company released updated overall survival and safety data from its ongoing Phase 2a trial. The trial is testing atebimetinib combined with modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in first-line pancreatic cancer patients, with over 13 months of median follow-up time now in the books.

Clinical trial results are always a make-or-break moment for biotech companies, and the market clearly didn't love what it saw. The stock maintains a stronger price trend over the medium and long terms, but the short-term trend is weak, which makes sense given today's massive selloff.

Northrop Grumman Soars on Defense Spending Talk

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) jumped 6.84% as defense stocks broadly rallied following a social media post from President Trump. In the post, Trump floated the idea of increasing the 2027 military budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. That's a 50% increase, and defense contractors are understandably excited about the prospect.

Northrop maintains a stronger price trend across all timeframes, though it carries a poor value ranking. When the government might be about to shower your industry with an extra half-trillion dollars, though, value rankings probably take a back seat to growth prospects.

Phathom Pharmaceuticals Sinks on Dilution

Phathom Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PHAT) dropped 14.22% after announcing the pricing of a $130 million public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants. Equity offerings dilute existing shareholders, and the market tends to punish that dilution immediately, even if the company needs the cash for good reasons.

Despite today's drop, Phathom maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms according to technical indicators. The question for investors is whether the cash raised will be put to good use or if this is just throwing good money after bad.

Constellation Brands Posts Solid Quarter

Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) shares were up 2.32% after the beverage company posted better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. Beer and spirits apparently sold well enough to beat analyst estimates, and the stock was rewarding that performance.

The stock maintains a stronger price trend over the short and medium terms but shows a weak trend in the long term, with a moderate quality ranking. That mixed technical picture suggests investors might want to focus on the fundamentals rather than the charts.

How Wednesday's Session Played Out

Wednesday was one of those days where different parts of the market went in completely different directions. Materials, utilities, and industrials stocks took the biggest hits, while health care and communication services actually managed to close higher.

The Economic Reality Check

Beyond the immediate market action, economist Paul Krugman is sounding alarm bells about what he sees as "fantasy" policy-making from the Trump administration. He's particularly concerned about the disconnect between the administration's promises and economic reality, especially when it comes to resource extraction plans.

Krugman argues that investors have rallied around the promise of a resource-rich windfall, but the market is effectively pricing in assets that don't actually exist. If the administration is counting on these "fictional" revenue streams to fund its agenda, he warns, the fiscal reality could be jarring.

This creates what Krugman calls a fragile economic environment where market exuberance has become untethered from fundamentals. Instead of the promised boom, he expects American taxpayers will ultimately foot the bill for what he characterizes as an adventure in wishful thinking.

"The administration went from 'big talk about huge money-making opportunities' to effectively subsidizing the oil industry," Krugman wrote, arguing that this pivot exposes the "unrealistic fantasy" at the heart of current economic policy.

For Krugman, the Venezuela situation is a perfect example of this larger economic delusion. He anticipates that as the "oil fantasy" dissolves into the reality of heavy crude and high extraction costs, the "meaningful reset" some analysts are predicting could turn out to be a painful correction for a market that bought into a mirage.

What's on the Economic Calendar

Thursday brings a packed schedule of economic data releases that investors will be watching closely. Initial jobless claims for the week ending January 3 will be released by 3:00 p.m. ET, giving us a fresh read on the labor market ahead of Friday's big jobs report. October's U.S. trade deficit data and third quarter U.S. productivity numbers are also due out by 3:00 p.m. ET. And for those tracking consumer behavior, November's U.S. consumer credit data will be announced by 3:00 p.m. ET as well.

Commodities, Crypto, and Global Markets

In commodity markets, crude oil futures were trading higher in early New York trading, up 0.84% to hover around $56.44 per barrel. Energy markets seem to be finding some footing after recent volatility.

Gold spot prices fell 0.58% to around $4,430.60 per ounce, pulling back from its recent record high of $4,550.11 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.12% higher at the 98.7980 level, which tends to put pressure on gold and other dollar-denominated commodities.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 1.85% lower at $89,968.89 per coin. The cryptocurrency has been struggling to regain the momentum it had earlier in the rally.

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday. South Korea's Kospi and Australia's ASX 200 indices managed gains, while China's CSI 300, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and India's Nifty 50 indices all declined. European markets were mixed in early trade, reflecting the same uncertainty that's keeping U.S. futures in the red.