Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Traders Parse Jobs Report, Await More Corporate Earnings

07:21 AM EST, 02/12/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were tracking in the green before the opening bell Thursday as traders digest a strong jobs report and await the latest batch of corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq added 0.2%. The Nasdaq and the Dow finished the previous trading session lower, while the S&P 500 was flat.

Delayed government data on Wednesday showed that the US economy added more jobs than expected in January, while the unemployment rate fell versus Wall Street's views for it to hold steady, strengthening investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady next month.

"The employment report for January was robust and adds to evidence of a strengthening labor market," David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie, said in a report Wednesday. "We continue to expect that the (Fed's) rate cutting is complete with the next move likely to be a hike, potentially in 2026."

The probability of the Fed leaving its benchmark lending rate unchanged next month stood at 94% on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

The two-year Treasury yield was unchanged in premarket action at 3.51%, while the 10-year rate retreated 0.8 basis points to 4.18%.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD), Howmet Aerospace (HWM), Restaurant Brands International (QSR), US Foods (USFD), Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) and Hyatt Hotels (H) are scheduled to release their latest quarterly results before the bell, among others.

Applied Materials (AMAT), Arista Networks (ANET), Airbnb (ABNB), Expedia (EXPE), Rivian Automotive (RIVN), Pinterest (PINS) and DraftKings (DKNG) post earnings after the markets close.

Shares of Cisco Systems (CSCO) dropped 7.4% pre-bell as the networking equipment maker projected its adjusted gross margin to be lower on a sequential basis in the fiscal third quarter amid rising memory prices. AppLovin (APP) fell 5.4% after the company reported its latest financial results.

Micron Technology (MU) gained 3.2% after closing the previous trading session up 9.9%.

Thursday's economic calendar has the weekly jobless claims bulletin at 8:30 am ET, followed by the existing home sales report for January at 10 am. Fed Governor Stephen Miran is slated to speak at 7:05 pm, while Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan's remarks are due earlier at 7 pm.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.2% to $64.52 a barrel before the open. Gold declined 0.3% to $5,085 per troy ounce, while bitcoin inclined 1% to $68,085.

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