US Equity Indexes Rise as Jobless Rate Drops, Consumer Sentiment Improves

02:25 PM EST, 01/09/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose as old-economy sectors jumped after a jobs report showed a drop in the jobless rate alongside stronger-than-expected gains in a consumer sentiment index.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% to 23,677.5, the S&P 500 advanced 0.7% to 6,970.2, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 0.5% to 49,514.1. The S&P 500 hit another all-time high intraday on Friday.

All sectors except health care and financials rose, with utilities, industrials, and materials leading the pack.

The December employment report showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in December from 4.5% in November, compared with expectations for in-line. The labor force participation rate fell to 62.4% from 62.5%, and the size of the labor force declined, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.

"We are seeing a productivity revolution of extraordinary proportions," Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. "We have an economy that's growing at a quite robust rate, but we just don't need the people," implying fewer staff are needed for some of the jobs now compared with the past.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000, below the 70,000-job increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. November payrolls were revised down to a gain of 56,000, and October payrolls were also revised down to an addition of 173,000, for a net downward revision of 76,000, according to the BLS.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year yield slipping 1.6 basis points to 4.17% while the two-year rate jumped by 4.6 basis points to 3.53%.

In energy markets, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 2.7% to $59.31 a barrel.

Further in economic news, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 54.0 in January from 52.9 in December, above expectations for a smaller increase to 53.5 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Michigan survey respondents pegged one-year inflation expectations at 4.2%, unchanged from the prior month, while five-year inflation expectations rose to 3.4% from 3.2%.

Separately, the Supreme Court is expected issue its next rulings on Wednesday, including the legality of the Trump administration's international trade tariffs, multiple media outlets reported. The court tends not to pre-announce cases that will be decided.

In company news, Meta Platforms (META) announced three separate nuclear power agreements, including those with Vistra (VST) and Oklo (OKLO) , as the technology giant aims to strengthen its data center operations and support its artificial intelligence initiatives. Shares of Vistra (VST) surged 11%, among the biggest gainers on the S&P 500. Oklo (OKLO) jumped 8%.

General Motors (GM) said it expects to incur a total of $7.1 billion in charges in Q4, most of which are tied to its electric vehicle operations in North America. Shares of the automaker dropped 3.1%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500.

In precious metals, silver futures jumped 5.7% to $79.42 per troy ounce, and gold futures rose 1% to $4,506.52.

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