Stock futures managed to shake off their early morning doldrums Friday, turning positive as investors positioned themselves ahead of the highly anticipated December jobs report. After a mixed Thursday session that saw some sectors thrive while others stumbled, the major benchmark indices' futures were all trading in the green.

The backdrop isn't exactly calm, though. Rising tensions in Iran have investors on edge, with the Iranian government implementing a nationwide internet blackout to suppress dissent. WTI crude futures ticked higher on the news, while gold stayed relatively flat and silver inched up modestly. Traders are trying to parse out what this geopolitical turbulence might mean for global markets and economic stability.

Adding to the day's drama, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce its ruling on tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump later today. And of course, there's that December jobs report everyone's been waiting for, set to drop Friday morning. These are the kinds of catalysts that can move markets in a hurry.

On the bond front, the 10-year Treasury yield was sitting at 4.18%, while the two-year bond yielded 3.50%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in an 86.2% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates right where they are at the January meeting. Translation: don't expect a rate cut anytime soon.

Here's how the futures were looking:

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 respectively, were both moving higher in premarket action Friday. SPY was up 0.067% at $689.97, while QQQ advanced 0.084% to $620.99, according to MarketDash data.

Companies Making Waves

General Motors Takes a Hit on EV Losses

General Motors Co. (GM) was down 0.63% in premarket trading after revealing a staggering $7.1 billion loss from its electric vehicle investments. That's not pocket change, even for an automotive giant. The company's ambitious EV push has been costly, and investors are clearly taking note.

From a technical perspective, GM maintains a stronger price trend across short, medium, and long-term timeframes, with a moderate quality ranking based on market data. Despite the premarket decline, the stock has shown resilience in its broader trend patterns.

Rio Tinto Drops on Merger Talks

Rio Tinto PLC ADR (RIO) fell 2.46% after confirming it's in discussions about a possible merger with Glencore. Merger announcements can be tricky—sometimes investors love them, sometimes they hate them. In this case, the market seems to be taking a cautious stance on the potential tie-up between these mining heavyweights.

Despite the premarket drop, Rio Tinto maintains stronger price trends across short, medium, and long-term periods, along with a strong value ranking. The company's fundamentals remain solid even as merger speculation swirls.

Tilray Brands Lights Up on Earnings Beat

Tilray Brands Inc. (TLRY) surged 8.32% after the cannabis company released its second-quarter earnings report, beating expectations on both revenue and earnings. When you beat on the top and bottom lines, investors tend to notice. This is exactly the kind of performance that can shift sentiment around a stock that's been struggling.

The stock maintains a stronger price trend over the long term, though it's shown weakness in the short and medium terms. This earnings beat could be the catalyst that helps reverse some of that near-term weakness.

Offerpad Soars on Trump Housing Proposal

Offerpad Solutions Inc. (OPAD) absolutely exploded higher, surging 38.82% following a new proposal from President Trump with significant implications for the nation's housing market. A nearly 40% move in premarket is remarkable and suggests traders believe this policy shift could be a game-changer for the iBuying company.

Market data indicates that OPAD maintains stronger price trends over the short and long terms, though there's been weakness in the medium-term trend. This massive premarket jump could certainly help smooth out that medium-term picture.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Climbs on Revenue Guidance

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KALV) shares rose 13.65% after the company reported preliminary global net product revenue results for the fourth quarter. The company said it expects preliminary global net product revenue of EKTERLY between $35 million and $49 million for the quarter. That's a wide range, but investors seem pleased with the midpoint.

KALV maintains stronger price trends across short, medium, and long-term timeframes, suggesting the stock has been on a solid trajectory even before this positive guidance announcement.

Looking Back at Thursday's Session

Thursday's trading session was a tale of two markets. U.S. equities saw broad gains across most industries, with the Energy and Consumer Staples sectors leading the charge. However, Information Technology and Health Care were the party poopers, posting the only sector losses of the day.

Here's how the major indices closed Thursday:

The Russell 2000's 1.11% gain stands out—small caps had a good day while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped. The S&P 500 was basically flat, up less than a hundredth of a percent. Meanwhile, the Dow had a respectable half-percent gain.

What the Smart Money Is Saying

Scott Wren of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute has some advice for investors feeling overwhelmed by the constant barrage of market news: ignore the noise. He's telling investors to look past "headline fatigue" and instead focus on the "economic and policy trends that should drive the economy and capital markets."

Wren has identified four critical pillars that he believes will define 2026: resilient AI capital spending, significant tax benefits, continued Federal Reserve rate cuts, and deregulation. These aren't just buzzwords—they're structural forces that could shape market performance for the entire year.

He argues that "productivity is a buzzword we expect to hear even more of in 2026," as companies increasingly turn to automation to navigate a tight labor supply. This isn't just about cutting costs—it's about doing more with less in an environment where finding workers is genuinely difficult.

While Technology and Communication Services were the darlings of 2025, Wren believes "the tentacles of the AI revolution are reaching well beyond" those sectors. This is an important point that many investors might be missing. AI isn't just about software companies anymore.

As a result, Wren sees opportunities in Industrials and Utilities—the unglamorous but essential sectors needed to build and power the massive data centers that AI requires. You can't run ChatGPT without electricity and physical infrastructure, after all.

He also highlights potential in Midstream Energy and Industrial Metals like copper, which are crucial for supporting this infrastructure build-out. The AI revolution needs real-world materials and energy to function, and somebody has to provide them.

Wren's bottom line: success in 2026 depends on following these innovation-driven trends rather than reacting to the daily news cycle. It's about seeing the forest instead of obsessing over each individual tree.

Economic Calendar for Friday

Here's what investors will be watching Friday:

December's U.S. employment report drops at 8:30 a.m., which is the big one everyone's waiting for. We'll also get December's unemployment rate and hourly wages data at the same time. Then at 9:45 a.m., October's housing starts numbers will be released along with January's UMich consumer sentiment reading. Finally, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin is scheduled to speak at 1:35 p.m. ET.

The jobs report is particularly important because it gives the Federal Reserve critical information about the labor market as it decides what to do with interest rates. Strong job growth could push the Fed to keep rates higher for longer, while weak numbers might increase pressure for cuts.

Commodities, Crypto, and Global Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session, up 0.28% to hover around $57.92 per barrel. That uptick is likely related to the Iran situation—geopolitical tension in the Middle East tends to put upward pressure on oil prices.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.13% to trade around $4,471.65 per ounce. Its last record high was $4,550.11 per ounce, so we're not too far off those lofty levels. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.13% higher at the 99.0620 level.

Over in the cryptocurrency world, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 0.51% higher at $90,195.78 per coin. Bitcoin's been bouncing around this level for a while now, unable to recapture the psychological $100,000 mark but also finding support in the $80,000-$90,000 range.

Asian markets closed mixed Friday. India's Nifty 50 and Australia's ASX 200 indices fell, while China's CSI 300, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and South Korea's Kospi indices all posted gains. European markets were showing mixed results in early trading.

The global picture is pretty murky right now—no clear directional signal from overseas markets, which means U.S. investors will probably be more focused on domestic data like that jobs report than what's happening abroad.