US stock futures were rising modestly Friday ahead of the U.S. jobs report for December.
These stocks were poised to make moves Friday:
UWM Holdings rose 7.2% and Rocket Cos. advanced 6.5% ahead of the opening bell as the mortgage lenders got a boost from President Donald Trump’s plan to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds in a bid to make housing more affordable. House-flipper Opendoor Technologies jumped 8.2%, while home builders PulteGroup, Lennar, and D.R. Horton were up 1%, 2.3%, and 1.5%, respectively.
General Motors slid 1% in the premarket session after the auto maker said it would be recording $6 billion in charges in the fourth quarter related to electric-vehicle assets and programs, including $1.8 billion in non-cash charges. “With the termination of certain consumer tax incentives and the reduction in the stringency of emissions regulations, industry-wide consumer demand for EVs in North America began to slow in 2025,” GM said in a regulatory filing.
Shares in Apple were flat following the iPhone maker’s seventh straight session of losses. The stock has declined 5.4% over the period. The losing streak is Apple’s longest since May 2025, when it fell for eight straight trading days, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Apple stock has fallen amid concerns about the tech giant’s lagging artificial-intelligence offerings.
GE Vernova fell 2.2% to $614.84 following a downgrade from analysts at Baird. Analyst Ben Kallo cut his rating on the stock to Neutral from Outperform and lowered his price target to $649 from $816, citing power capacity oversupply fears, according to the Fly.
Glencore surged 8.3% and Rio Tinto slipped 2.4% after the two mining companies confirmed they were in talks about a potential mega-merger over a year after the two companies first discussed a potential tie-up. The companies said in separate statements on Thursday that one consideration would be for Rio Tinto to buy Glencore in a “court-sanctioned arrangement.”
Olin plummeted 9.4% after the chemicals manufacturer cut its fourth-quarter outlook, which it blamed on a slowdown operations at a plant in Freeport, Texas and weaker demand for chlorine.
Revolution Medicines rallied 15% after a report said thatMerckwas in talks to buy the cancer-drug maker. Merck has been pursuing Revolution Medicines, but the deal hasn’t been finalized and could be several weeks away, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Revolution Medicines and Merck didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Barron’s. The stock surged 29% Wednesday afterThe Wall Street Journalreported that drugmakerAbbViewas close to a deal for the biotech.
Tilray Brands gained 9.4% after the cannabis and beverages company reported a fiscal second-quarter loss that narrowed from a year earlier and revenue rose 3% to a better-than-expected $217.5 million. Tilray said net revenue from cannabis rose 3% from a year earlier to $67.5 million.
WD-40 plunged 9.1% after fiscal first-quarter earnings missed analysts’ estimates and the lubricants company issued a fiscal-year outlook that also came up short of consensus.
