Blowout jobs report, rate cut bets pushed to July, AI rotation widens

Stock futures are higher after January payrolls rose 130,000 versus 65,000 expected, with unemployment ticking down to 4.3%. Dow futures are up 250 points as investors digest stronger labor data and push Fed rate cut odds to July. The key question now: does a resilient economy delay easing?

AI remains the market’s action verb. Investors are rotating within tech and services, reassessing middleman risk while favoring companies with strong balance sheets and positive momentum. Speculative names look mispriced after aggressive bids.

M&A and deregulation optimism could fuel a second-half melt-up. Credit markets remain open, and strategists see broader participation beyond last year’s narrow leadership.

Trending tickers: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) hovers near competing bids from Paramount and Netflix; Kraft Heinz (KHC) drops after pausing its planned split; Moderna (MRNA) slides after the FDA declines to review its flu vaccine filing; Robinhood (HOOD) slips as crypto revenue misses despite broader product expansion.

Takeaways:

• Strong jobs data lifts futures, delays rate cut expectations

• AI-driven rotation favors quality over speculation

• Broader market leadership emerging in 2026

• M&A and deregulation seen as second-half catalysts

• Earnings and deal headlines driving single-stock volatility

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