Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Jones Futures Decline - AZZ, Northrop Grumman, Immuneering In Focus

U.S. stock futures declined on Thursday following a mixed close on Tuesday, with only the Nasdaq 100 index ending in green.

However, investors remain highly vigilant regarding headline risk. The U.S Supreme Court could make a ruling on tariffs imposed on other countries by President Donald Trump as early as Friday, Jan. 9. The Supreme Court has said it will hold an Opinion Day on Friday, with the justices back from a break.

Additionally, investors also await the December jobs reports, slated to be released on Friday as well.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.15%, and the two-year bond was at 3.47%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing an 88.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in January.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.20% at $688.19, while the QQQ declined 0.29% to $622.35, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Stocks In Focus

AZZ

• AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) was 2.8% higher in premarket on Thursday after the company reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings shows that AZZZ maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long term, with a solid quality ranking. Additional information is available here.

Immuneering

• Immuneering Corp. (NASDAQ:IMRX) shares tumbled 22.93% after it announced updated overall survival and safety data from its ongoing Phase 2a trial of atebimetinib in combination with modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in first-line pancreatic cancer patients, with over 13 months of median follow-up time.

• It maintains a stronger price trend over the medium and long terms, but a weak trend in the short term. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Northrop Grumman

• Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) jumped 6.84% as shares of defense companies traded higher, following President Trump's social media post, where he proposed increasing the 2027 military budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion.

• NOC maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Phathom Pharmaceuticals

• Phathom Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:PHAT) dropped 14.22% after announcing the pricing of $130 million public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PHAT maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms. Additional performance details are available here.

Constellation Brands

• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE:STZ) shares were 2.32% higher after it posted better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter.

• STZ maintains a stronger price trend over the short and medium terms but a weak trend in the long term, with a moderate quality ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Cues From Last Session

Materials, utilities, and industrials stocks recorded the biggest losses on Wednesday, though health care and communication services bucked the trend to close the session higher.

Insights From Analysts

Beyond the immediate geopolitical fallout with Venezuela, economist Paul Krugman argues that the Trump administration's “fantasy” policy-making poses a severe risk to the broader economy and stock market.

While investors have rallied around the promise of a resource-rich windfall, Krugman warns that the market is effectively pricing in assets that do not exist.

If the administration is banking on these “fictional” revenue streams to fund its agenda, the fiscal reality could be jarring.

Krugman suggests that this disconnect creates a fragile economic environment where market exuberance is untethered from fundamentals. Instead of the promised boom, he expects the American taxpayer will ultimately foot the bill for the adventure.

“The administration went from ‘big talk about huge money-making opportunities’ to effectively subsidizing the oil industry,” Krugman wrote, adding that this pivot exposes the “unrealistic fantasy” at the heart of current economic policy.

For Krugman, the Venezuela gamble is a microcosm of a larger economic delusion.

He anticipates that as the “oil fantasy” dissolves into the reality of heavy crude and high extraction costs, the “meaningful reset” predicted by analysts could essentially be a painful correction for a market that bought into a mirage.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 3, October’s U.S. trade deficit data, and the third quarter’s U.S. productivity data will be released by 3:00 p.m. Also, November’s U.S. consumer credit data will be announced by 3:00 p.m. ET.

Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.84% to hover around $56.44 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.58% to hover around $4,430.60 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,550.11 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.12% higher at the 98.7980 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.85% lower at $89,968.89 per coin.

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, as South Korea's Kospi and Australia's ASX 200 indices rose. China’s CSI 300, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and India’s Nifty 50 indices fell. European markets were mixed in early trade.

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