Item 1 of 2 Futures-options traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange’s NYSE American (AMEX) in New York City, U.S., January 6, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly report showed 50,000 workers were added to nonfarm payrolls in December, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a rise of 60,000, just above November’s downwardly revised increase of 56,000. The unemployment rate eased, as expected, to 4.4%.
“Payrolls were a little bit light relative to consensus, but still fairly strong numbers,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.
“We are back to normal in terms of economic reporting, so that’s a bit of a relief for everyone.”
Before now, the release of U.S. economic data had been delayed because of the long federal government shutdown.
Stock market gains this week came despite increased geopolitical tensions sparked by U.S. forces capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on its capital January 3.
All three indexes posted gains in the first full trading week of 2026, driven by increases in materials, industrials and other sectors that have lagged technology stocks in recent years.
DOLLAR, TWO-YEAR YIELDS UP
After the jobs report the dollar initially gave up almost all the day’s gains versus a basket of major currencies , having risen by nearly 0.2% earlier. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last up 0.26% at 99.13.
Interest rate sensitive two-year Treasury yields were higher after the data, while 10-year yields were last down slightly. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, rose 5 basis points to 3.538%, from 3.488% late on Thursday. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1.2 basis points to 4.171%.
Investors have become more convinced that production in Venezuela, even under U.S. control, may not rise meaningfully for some time.
Copper prices rose, extending recent gains on renewed bets on a future demand boost, while aluminium hit its highest since April 2022.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; additional reporting by Amanda Cooper and Sophie Kiderlin in London and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Hugh Lawson, Nick Zieminski and Diane Craft
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
