5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

Happy Thursday. For nearly a week last year, McDonald’s was the number-one global seller of one thing, and it wasn’t edible. The fast-food chain in December became the world’s top sock — yes, sock — seller thanks to its Grinch Meal.

Stock futures are higher this morning following a down day.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

The U.S. labor market added 130,000 nonfarm payrolls last month, more than double the 55,000 jobs expected by the Dow Jones consensus estimate. The better-than-expected report also showed the unemployment rate in January decreased to 4.3% — its lowest level since August.

Here’s what to know:

Job growth in January was better than any month in 2025, but Wednesday’s report still wasn’t all positive. Most of the month’s job growth was concentrated in health care-related fields.Annual revisions also showed payroll gains between April 2024 and March 2025 were 898,000 lower than initially stated.On a monthly basis, November’s previous estimate was revised down by 15,000 while December’s number fell by 2,000. That tallied to a net loss of 1,000 jobs in the final six months of 2025.All in all, the strong headline data was not enough to quell concerns about the health of the U.S. labor market.Stocks initially rose following the report’s release, but all three major indexes closed Tuesday’s session lower.Traders increasingly see the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates steady until at least June, which could have tempered investor enthusiasm.Follow live market updates here.

The House of Representatives last night voted to overturn President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. Several Republicans joined all but one Democrat to pass the resolution, 219-211, in a symbolic — but likely futile — rebuke of Trump’s keystone economic policy.

The measure will now head to the Senate, which last year supported similar legislation. But even if the Senate approves the resolution, Trump would likely veto the bill. Still, six Republicans voted for the anti-tariff measure in defiance of the president, who took to social media during the vote to try to pressure his party members to fall in line. “Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” Trump posted.

The Treasury Department said earlier on Wednesday that the U.S. generated $30 billion from tariffs in January, a more than 300% year-over-year increase. The surge in tariff revenues helped stanch the pace of the federal budget deficit.

McDonald’s beat Wall Street’s fourth-quarter expectations on the top- and bottom-lines yesterday, reporting a nearly 7% boost in domestic same-store sales that it chalked up to popular promotions.

The positive results are a sign that the fast-food chain’s focus on value has paid off. “By listening to customers and taking action, we have improved traffic and strengthened our value & affordability scores,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement. But as CNBC’s Kate Rogers reports, McDonald’s value push is also ruffling feathers among some of its franchisees.

Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands International reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter this morning. The Burger King parent saw same-store sales outside the U.S. rise 6.1%, topping analysts’ estimate of 3.7%.

Wall Street is itching for more IPOs out of the tech sector. But for now, they’ll have to wait. As CNBC’s Ari Levy and Jordan Novet report, action in tech capital markets is currently focused on debt, as the sector’s hyperscalers race to fund their artificial intelligence buildout plans.

A UBS report last month estimated that global tech and AI-related debt issuance could hit $990 billion this year, up from $710 billion in 2025. Oracle and Alphabet have so far made the biggest corporate debt sales, but Amazon, Meta and Tesla have indicated they could be not far behind.

The prospect of nearly $1 trillion in debt sales, as well as megacap tech’s massive 2026 spending projections, has lit up warning lights for some investors concerned about an AI bubble.

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its order halting all flights in and out of Texas’ El Paso International Airport yesterday, just hours after it said flights would be grounded for 10 days due to “security” reasons.

A person briefed on the matter told CNBC that the FAA’s closure of the airspace stemmed from the Department of Defense’s testing of anti-drone technology. A Trump administration official on Wednesday said the Pentagon disabled Mexican cartel drones that had breached U.S. airspace.

Wednesday’s jobs report had many traders tempering their 2026 rate cut expectations, but not Geenlight Capital’s David Einhorn. Here’s what Einhorn told CNBC’s Sara Eisen following the labor data:

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Sean Conlon, Liz Napolitano, Amelia Lucas, Kate Rogers, Justin Papp, Garrett Downs, Ari Levy, Jordan Novet and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report. Melodie Warner edited this edition.